A suspect has been arrested following an altercation during last weekend’s NFC Championship game at SoFi Stadium that left a San Francisco 49ers fan seriously injured, forcing him to be placed in a medically induced coma, police and officials say.
Inglewood police Lt. Nicole Loudermilk confirmed that the suspect was taken into custody Thursday night. The department released no further details, according to the Associated Press.
The injured 49ers fan, Daniel Luna, 40, had to be put into a medically induced coma after he was punched, fell and struck his head on the ground outside the stadium shared by the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. said at a news conference Thursday.
Fans make their way to SoFi Stadium before the NFC Championship NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif.
(AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
49ERS FAN HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING ATTACK AT SOFI STADIUM
Butts said police sought the man who threw the punch based on a blurry video and the license plate of a car.
Luna, who owns a restaurant in Oakland, was mingling in a crowd of about 16 people at SoFi Stadium, most of them wearing what appeared to be 49ers jerseys, when he pushed a man wearing a Rams jersey from behind, Butts said after viewing the video.
Before that, Butts said, “there didn’t seem to be any hostilities.”
When Luna turned to walk away, the man pushed Luna back, the mayor said. When Luna turned, the man punched him in the mouth, causing Luna to fall to the ground and hit the back of his head, Butts said, estimating that the encounter lasted less than five seconds.
Los Angeles Rams’ Travin Howard, middle, returns an interception during the second half of the NFC Championship NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif. The Rams won 20-17 to advance to the Super Bowl,
(AP/Mark J. Terril)
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“It looked like a small altercation that went very bad,” he said. “From one punch and someone falling, hitting their head on the ground. It wasn’t like you had people ganging up on somebody and beating them.”
Luna had traveled to Los Angeles by himself for the game after some of his friends canceled, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Fox News’ Brie Stimson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
