More details have come out about the violence that took place Saturday night at Candlestick Park.
First there was a fight in the parking lot before the game, and it involved men and women, 49ers and Raiders fans. You can see this fight is on Youtube.
Then there was a brawl in the stands, which is also on Youtube. It started as a fight between a Raider and a Niner fan, and then evolved into a Niner fan-on-Niner fan brawl. It seemed like everyone in the stadium turned away from the field to watch this. Even some of the players were looking into the stands.
Later on, one man got knocked unconscious in an upstairs bathroom.
After the game, two men got shot in the parking lot. One got wounds to his face, another took four bullets in his stomach. Both victims are expected to survive.
The victim who was got shot in the stomach apparently was wearing a “F—k the 49ers shirt.”
I want to make one point and then I want to ask a question. A lot of the water cooler talk immediately after the shooting was prejudiced and unfair towards Raider fans. ‘Clearly they brought this violence with them,’ was the reasoning. From all the videos and the reports, it seems like it may have been Niner fans who escalated the violence in the stands, and a Niner fan who pulled the trigger in the parking lot. Either way, it’s unfair to make general statements about either fan base based on who these lunatics turn out to be. This Battle of the Bay brings out the worst in both fan bases. There is also evidence that at least some of the violence was gang related, not fan related.
Clearly if they are going to continue this game, they are going to have to ratchet up security tremendously in the future.
Knowing what you know now, will you feel safe to attend the game next year?
Follow me on twitter @grantcohn.
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