What happened to the 'beaten' Bruins fan?
A photo of a 'beaten' Bruins fan spread across Twitter Wednesday night during the height of the Vancouver riot, sparking rumours of what happened. Global News looked into the incident.
*Updated with exclusive new video*
- A photo of a man wearing a Bruins jersey set off a flurry of online activity and speculation Wednesday evening during the height of the Vancouver riot.
The photo shows a man dressed in a Boston Bruins jersey and jeans, lying on his back on the sidewalk. Blood is visible on the left side of his face and his eyes are closed. A number of people surround him, apparently checking him for injury.
The photo was originally tweeted by @cwistal around 9PM Vancouver (Pacific) time.
The photo was re-tweeted over 100 times and circulated around the world. Users began to speculate what had happened to the man. Rumours began to circulate, each with different ideas of what had injured the man. Stabbing, beating, and being pushed from an overpass were all mentioned.
Some people thought he had been killed.
Bruins fan has been beaten to death in Vancouver by rioters. Loads of fires here, stores are being looted left right and center. #riotcouver
@edmontoncritic this is serious. When a Bruins fan is stabbed and killed, you really need to take things into perspective here Vancouver.
Really hope this isn't true. RT @ekmieciak: @AdamHogeCBS It's confirmed. A Boston Bruins fan was pushed off an over pass and was killed. RIP
@botchoncanucks Bruins fan killed at game tonight. He was pushed from the 300 level at Rogers Arena to 100 level. Have you heard this?
A Bruins fan was killed after he was thrown off a bridge by rioting Vancouver fans. #pointsforcreativity
@johnsfatcock btw this is why the bruins fan was knocked out plz show the whole picture t.co/5XufRbbA video showing what caused the man to fall was broadcast on CBC Television around 11:25 PM local time.
It appears that the man wearing the Bruins jersey shoved another person. He was then pushed to the ground by security guards. As he fell, he seems to have struck his head on the sidewalk. He then appears to be unconscious as people rush to help him.
The video ends before we see whether he got up or left the scene.
WATCH VIDEO:
By looking carefully at the beginning of the video, you can see that the security guards are from the Genesis Security Group, a large Vancouver security firm.
Global News spoke to David Sukic, Senior Account Manager at Genesis Security.
He said that the incident happened outside of the Shark Club, a sports bar near the intersection of Georgia and Cambie Streets.At the time of publication, Sukic had been unable to reach the security guard involved in the incident.
A manager at the Shark Club said she could not comment on the incident as she was not working Wednesday night.
UPDATE: Since we first published this story we received numerous tips from eyewitnesses. One user sent in this video that shows what happened after the photo was taken. WARNING STRONG LANGUAGE:
- As you can see in the video, the man appears to wake up and is treated by police on scene.
It is hard to find out what happened after that without knowing the man's name.
The police and Vancouver Coastal Health both report that there were no deaths during Wednesday's riots. The most serious injury was a man who fell from a viaduct - perhaps the injury that many confused with the Boston fan. Police say there was no foul play involved in the viaduct incident, that it appeared to be reckless behaviour.
People were admitted with head injuries to both St. Paul's Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital, according to Vancouver Coastal Health spokesperson Anna Marie D'Angelo. The vast majority of patients were treated and quickly released. Four patients remain at St. Paul's Hospital and four at Vancouver General.
