Fans in knife fight after Flyers bus trip

By STEPHANIE FARR
Philadelphia Daily News

It wasn't Broad Street, but hockey bullies were out in force on Saturday night in a strange, blood-soaked brawl.

In the bizarre incident, two Flyers fans who took a bus trip to see their team play in New Jersey were critically stabbed by other Flyers fans who were awaiting the bus' return at a bowling alley in Northeast Philadelphia, police said.

On the way back from the game in Newark, in which the Flyers defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-2, one of the men on the bus called his brother, an off-duty police officer from the 18th District, and told him that there might be trouble when the bus got back in the city, according to Northeast Detectives.

It is unclear why some of the occupants of the fan bus expected trouble upon their return, but according to police, when the off-duty cop showed up at the bus' final destination, at the Arena Bowling Alley on Roosevelt Boulevard near Rhawn Street, he saw a group of 10 to 15 men waiting for it to arrive.

When the bus pulled up shortly after midnight, three to four of the men who were waiting attempted to board the bus, police said.

The off-duty officer got out of his vehicle and, as he did so, the men trying to get on the bus instead ran towards him and began kicking and punching the officer, Northeast Detectives said.

After verbally identifying himself as a police officer, the off-duty cop grabbed a hold of one of the men and held him against his car while the others continued to beat the officer, police said.

Meanwhile, the cop's brother and the other fans got off the bus and engaged in a verbal dispute with the opposing group, according to police.

During the course of the argument, the cop's 28-year-old brother was stabbed once in the chest and once in the back by a man in a Flyers' jersey, Northeast Detectives said.

Another occupant of the bus, a 26-year-old man, was stabbed once in the back by a different assailant who also wore a Flyers jersey, this one with ripped sleeves, police said.

Both men were rushed to Aria Health's Torresdale campus, where they remained in critical condition yesterday.

Aside from a cut over his left eye, the off-duty officer escaped with minor injuries, police said.

The only arrest made so far in the case is the man that the off-duty cop was able to hold down while he was being beaten, Northeast Detectives said.

Police have not released the names of the victims, the off-duty officer involved or the arrested individual.

A fan who was on the bus and posted his experiences on the local sports blog, The 700 Level, said he didn't know why there was a "big brawl" between the two factions of Flyers fans, but assumed it may have had something to do with all-day drinking. He recounted what he saw:

"Anyway, some guy comes walking by with his buddy screaming, 'Call an ambulance!'" he wrote. "He had been stabbed and his intestines were literally hanging out! There was blood everywhere."

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3153.

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