Authorities investigate fight after Monday's 49ers game
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KTVU and wires) – The Santa Clara Police Department launched an investigation Tuesday after two videos surfaced online showing an assault of a Minnesota Vikings fan.
The fight was reported to police as fans were returning to their cars shortly after the conclusion of the 49ers' 20-3 victory over the Minnesota Vikings at Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium, police Lt. Kurt Clarke said.
The fight happened on the west side of Levi's Stadium near Gate C around 10:20 p.m. Monday night shortly after the home opener game let out.
The videos, posted on YouTube and Facebook, show a man in a Vikings jersey being beaten by 49ers fans.
Eventually the attackers are kept at bay by the guards and other fans and the man in the Vikings jersey gets up and walks away.
Police said they got a call about the fight, but say by the time they arrived everyone had left.
Authorities only learned about the videos Tuesday morning when KTVU called after one of the videos was posted on Facebook. It has since been taken down.
The video surfaced early Tuesday morning and police assigned an investigator to the case. Clarke said they have been in touch with the victim and the investigation is making progress.
"The video helps us tremendously," said Clarke. "Obviously you can see the video and see what happened--it's not really open to interpretation. Our message is simple -- acts like this will just not be tolerated at Levi's stadium or in the city of Santa Clara."
The 49ers released a statement which read in part, "We are aware of the disturbing incident following last night's game and are working in collaboration with the Santa Clara Police Department to investigate."
Police would not elaborate on the extent of the victim's injuries.
The fight was one of at least five reported assaults at Monday's 49ers game. There were 29 arrests made at Levi's Stadium Monday night, including four for assault. The rest were alcohol-related, Clarke said.
KTVU spoke with the sister of Giants' fan Bryan Stow, who suffered brain damage after he was beaten in the parking lot after the Giants-Dodgers opening day game in 2011.
Erin Collins told KTVU she was heartbroken watching the video.
"We always say there has to be a reason this happened to Bryan and some purpose has to come out of this. And then every time we think people got it, we see something like this. It's just disheartening," said Collins.
Investigators hope someone who witnessed the assault or sees the video can identify those involved.
They tell KTVU they're already in contact with the man in the Vikings jersey.
Police are asking anyone with information about the fight to contact Sgt. Ray Carreira at (408) 615-4849.