SoFi Crowd Control Worker Sues Rams Over Brain Bleed Suffered During Brawl
SoFi Crowd Control Worker Sues Rams Over Brain Bleed Suffered During Brawl
A 71-year-old crowd control worker at SoFi Stadium is suing the Los Angeles Rams over a brain bleed he suffered during a brawl that transpired during a Dec. 8 Thursday Night Football game.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Robert Leahey was working for a company that provides crowd control services that does not “raise to the expertise of more formal security services.”
Leahey was diagnosed with “severe and catastrophic brain injuries, including a subdural hematoma with brain bleeding” and was hospitalized.
APEX Security Group, which is listed as a defendant along with the Rams and two companies that “owned, controlled, operated and/or maintained SoFi Stadium,” supplied the security guards who responded to the fight, the lawsuit reads.
Leahey was attempting to assist with controlling the brawl by making notes of those responsible for the fight. However, APEX security guards pushed Leahey out of the way, the suit alleges. Leahey fell down the stairs, and hit his head on the concrete several times.
Security guards helped him up but he had trouble staying on his feet, experiencing “neurological issues.” Shortly thereafter someone threw a metal beer can that struck Leahey on the back of the head, the suit said.
Leahey said he continues to have trouble concentrating and has speech and visual impairments. “His life has entirely changed since December 8, 2022. He remains in the care of medical professionals,” the lawsuit states.
https://www.athleticbusiness.com/operations/safety-security/article/15660403/sofi-crowd-control-worker-sues-rams-over-brain-bleed-suffered-during-brawl?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ATHLCD231115007&utm_term=&oly_enc_id=0795F0391467A9T
HS Football Game Evacuated Due to Shooting Near Stadium
Andy Berg, 11/3/23- Athletic Business
No injuries were reported after a high school football stadium in Lake Charles, La., was evacuated in the fourth quarter of a game between Lake Charles College Prep and Kinder.
KPLC 7 reported that police asked fans to leave the stadium as a precaution, and an announcement was made over the speakers in the stadium asking that fans evacuate.
Lake Charles police are now investigating the shooting, which took place near Cougar Stadium in the 1600 block of Second Street. Police could not confirm whether anyone was injured or if anyone is in custody.
No injuries were reported in relation to the evacuation of the stadium.
At the time of the shooting Kinder led LCCP 21-12, but out of precaution, the game did not conclude on Thursday night. With the game being too close to determine an official outcome, the game will be resumed at a later date, but due to Hamilton Christian hosting Elton at Cougar Stadium on Friday night, Saturday is reportedly the likely date for when the game will resume.
https://www.athleticbusiness.com/operations/safety-security/article/15637859/hs-football-game-evacuated-due-to-shooting-near-stadium?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ATHLCD231103002&utm_term=&oly_enc_id=0795F0391467A9T
Belgian police shoot dead suspected extremist accused of killing 2 Swedes in Brussels
By
The Associated Press
BRUSSELS — Police in Belgium on Tuesday shot a suspected Tunisian extremist accused of killing two Swedish soccer fans in a brazen shooting on a Brussels street before disappearing into the night.
Hours after a manhunt began in the Belgian capital, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told broadcaster VRT: “We have the good news that we found the individual.” She said that the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered.
Amateur videos posted on social media of Monday’s attack showed a man wearing an orange fluorescent vest pull up on a scooter, take out a large weapon and open fire on passersby before chasing them into a building to gun them down.
“Last night, three people left for what was supposed to be a wonderful soccer party. Two of them lost their lives in a brutal terrorist attack,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at a news conference just before dawn. “Their lives were cut short in full flight, cut down by extreme brutality.”
De Croo said his thoughts were with the victims’ families and that he had sent his condolences to the Swedish prime minister. Security has been beefed up in the capital, particularly around places linked to the Swedish community in the city.
“The attack that was launched yesterday was committed with total cowardice,” De Croo said.
Not far from the scene of the shooting, the Belgium-Sweden soccer match in the Belgian national stadium was suspended at halftime and the 35,000 fans held inside as a precaution while the attacker was at large.
Prosecutor Eric Van Duyse said “security measures were urgently taken to protect the Swedish supporters” in the stadium. More than two hours after the game was suspended, a message flashed on the big stadium screen saying, “Fans, you can leave the stadium calmly.” Stand after stand emptied onto streets filled with police as the search for the attacker continued.
“Frustrated, confused, scared. I think everyone was quite scared,” said Caroline Lochs, a fan from Antwerp.
De Croo said the assailant was a Tunisian man living illegally in Belgium who used a military weapon to kill the two Swedes and shoot a third, who is being treated for “severe injuries.”
Federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw described how the suspect, a 45-year-old man who wasn’t identified, had posted a video online claiming to have killed three Swedish people.
The suspect is alleged to have said in the video that, for him, the Quran is “a red line for which he is ready to sacrifice himself.”
Sweden raised its terror alert to the second-highest level in August after a series of public Quran-burnings by an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden resulted in threats from Islamic militant groups.
Belgian prosecutors said overnight that nothing suggested the attack was linked to the latest war between Israel and Hamas.
Police overnight raided a building in the Brussels neighborhood of Schaerbeek where the man was thought be staying but did not find him. Sweden’s foreign ministry sent out a text message to subscribers in Belgium asking them “to be vigilant and to carefully listen to instructions from the Belgian authorities.”
According to Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, the suspect was denied asylum in 2019. He was known to police and had been suspected of involvement of human trafficking, living illegally in Belgium and of being a risk to state security.
Information provided to the Belgian authorities by an unidentified foreign government suggested that the man had been radicalized and intended to travel abroad to fight in a holy war. But the Belgian authorities were not able to establish this, so he was never listed as dangerous.
The man was also suspected of threatening a person in an asylum center and a hearing on that incident had been due to take place on Tuesday, Van Quickenborne said.
Belgian Asylum State Secretary Nicole de Moor said the man disappeared after his asylum application was refused so the authorities were unable to locate him to organize his deportation.
A terror alert for Brussels was raised overnight to 4, the top of Belgian’s scale, indicating an extremely serious threat. It previously stood at 2, which means the threat was average. The alert level for the rest of the country was raised to 3.
De Croo said that Belgium would never submit to such attacks. “Moments like this are a heavy ordeal,” he told reporters, “but we are never going to let ourselves be intimidated by them.”
https://www.npr.org/2023/10/16/1206349943/gunman-kills-2-swedes-in-brussels-prompting-a-terror-alert-and-halting-a-soccer-
Shootings at Youth Football Games Leave Kids in Crossfire
Andy Berg, October 11, 2023
Panic and chaos ensued at a youth football game Sunday after gunfire erupted at Thornridge HIgh School in Chicago’s south suburbs.
The third quarter of a game between the Dolton Bears and the South Holland Jets when a man opened fire.
“The first thing that came to our mind was to tell the children to get down, you know, get covered,” parent Dedric Scales told CBS.
Witnesses say as many as 10 shots were fired around 2:45 when a man affiliated with the South Holland Jets had an altercation with a parent.
The man, who was seen shooting aimlessly into the air, was quickly apprehended. Even though Dolton Police managed to get everything under control at the scene and no injuries were reported, the damage was already done.
This is the second shooting in two weeks to happen at youth football game in the Chicago area. Last week a man was shot at Mandrake Park during a Chicago Hellcats game.
But this type of gun violence isn’t just happening in Chicago.
According to CBS 4, a 30-year-old St. Louis man was shot multiple times during a youth football practice on Tuesday.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department responded to the shooting at the park. The man was found in the northwest area of the park with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital, put in surgery and listed in critical, stable condition.
Police said two men got into an argument when one shot the other. The suspect, a 43-year-old man, later turned himself in at the North Patrol Division Station. First Alert 4 asked police if possible charges will be referred to prosecutors.
https://www.athleticbusiness.com/operations/safety-security/article/15636292/shootings-at-youth-football-games-leave-kids-in-crossfire?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ATHLCD231011009&utm_term=&oly_enc_id=0795F0391467A9T
11-Year-Old Florida Youth Football Player Arrested After Allegedly Shooting 2 Teammates
11-Year-Old Florida Youth Football Player Arrested After Allegedly Shooting 2 Teammates
Tue, October 3, 2023
An 11-year-old Florida boy has been arrested after he was accused of shooting two 13-year-olds following their youth football practice.
As reported by NBC News, the incident occurred Monday night at the Northwest Recreation Complex in Apopka, Florida, which is about 30 miles northwest of Orlando.
On Tuesday, police released surveillance video of the incident. The 11-year-old was detained and charged with second-degree attempted murder.
According to law enforcement, the shooting, which took place around 8 p.m., stemmed from an argument and physical fight that took place between the three boys during practice.
The 11-year-old allegedly grabbed a gun out of his mother’s SUV, ran toward his teammates, and fired one shot, hitting one boy in the arm and another in the back. Both children were transported to the hospital, where one underwent surgery and is said to be in stable condition. They are each expected to make a full recovery.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Apopka Police Chief Mike McKinley expressed his disdain for the country’s sad reality when it comes to gun violence.
“We shouldn’t have 11-year-olds that have access to guns and think they can resolve a dispute with a firearm,” McKinley said.
He continued by urging “society” to “reflect on this.”
“We see this way too often in our society now of juveniles—young juveniles, and they’re getting younger every day—that have access to guns,” McKinley said. “But the more disturbing part is they believe that gun, that firearm, is a resolution to their problems—and it’s not a resolution to anybody’s problems.”
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/11-old-florida-youth-football-013107253.html
Friday night lights under fire: High school football games are being blitzed by gun violence
By David K. Li and Corky Siemaszko, NBC, September 15, 2023
Gun violence is threatening to dim Friday night lights and endangering a beloved national pastime — high school football games.
This season alone so far only six weeks into the academic year, there have already been at least 16 shootings, resulting in two deaths and 13 people wounded at games across the country, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, which has been tracking this data since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
There have been two additional incidents at high school football fields this season: one where a crowd began a stampede after someone flashed a gun, and one where gunfire ended a Pop Warner game.
Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, stated
“It’s been sad to watch,” she said. “Horrific. It’s definitely the worst I can remember in 35 years as a teacher, coach, leader in sports.”
Niehoff said that when her association meets with local sports administrators about boosting security at big games, football in particular, this kind of violence is the “elephant in the room.” She said she’s grateful that, so far, none of these shootings have turned into mass casualty events.
“We’re just praying that we never have to talk about something like that,” she said.
Last year, two Texas teenagers in a Dallas suburb who had allegedly been plotting to carry out a mass shooting at an Everman High School football game were intercepted by police before they got to the school, according to published reports. Police found an AR pistol and a 60-round magazine in their car.
“It’s almost always a dispute that escalates into violence because somebody has a gun,” he said. “What has not happened yet is a planned attack on a high school football game.”
What, besides guns, do all these incidents have in common? Insufficient security.
On one Thursday in early September, an unspecified “threat” prompted officials in suburban Cleveland to play the Shaker Heights High School-Maple Heights High School game behind closed doors, with no fans.
Multiple students “told a trusted adult that they were aware of a threat related specifically to the game,” according to Shaker Heights City School District statement. The exact nature of this threat was not disclosed.
It’s also very hit-or-miss with security screenings. In one case, they had screenings at the start of the game but that was it. So somebody could have left the stadium and come back with a gun.”
It is a sad fact of life that many schools in America have metal detectors at the doors to classroom buildings, but securing a major venue like a football stadium can be a tougher challenge, Neihoff said.
Bulky, airport-style metal detectors can’t be easily moved from a central school door to a football stadium, she said. And there often aren’t enough of these devices to cover multiple entry points at stadiums.
In the upstate New York city of Utica, the public school district this month announced on its official Facebook page that it was beefing up security by only allowing students accompanied by a parent to attend school-sponsored sporting events.
The school district made this move after a security officer was shot in the head and wounded Sept. 9 while trying to break up a fight that broke out in a parking lot outside a Proctor High School football game.
A 16-year-old who does not attend Proctor High has been charged with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and other charges, Utica Police Lt. Mike Curley said.
To keep guns out, school officials banned backpacks and fanny packs from all district athletic events and said there would be “no re-entry and no admittance after halftime” at high school football games.
Also, at Utica high school football games, all fans will file into the stadium through a single entry point where they will be required to pass through a metal detector.
Consider what happened Sept. 1 in Louisiana when 15-year-old Ja’Kobe Queen was fatally shot during halftime of what’s called the Sugar Cane Classic between the Port Allen Pelicans and their archrivals, the Brusly High Panthers.
Police said Queen had walked over to a concession stand to buy a cold drink when shots rang out.
“Although we had extra security at this game, it ended in a tragic incident,” West Baton Rouge schools said in a statement released a day after the shooting.
A 28-year-old woman was also injured in the shooting, the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office said. And an 18-year-old named Jarrettin Jackson II was later arrested in connection with the shooting.
The California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees prep sports in the nation’s largest state, said all schools have to file an “emergency action plan.”
What CA is really driving right now is their sportsmanship initiative. The lack of sportsmanship has gotten out of control at many events, not just in California but all over the U.S. We’re really pushing to get everyone to be on the same page, support each other, be positive and be there for the kids.
Electric Zoo Festival spirals into chaos after maximum capacity prompts fans to storm gates
Electric Zoo Festival spirals into chaos after maximum capacity prompts fans to storm gates
By Sonia Rincón WABC logo
Monday, September 4, 2023
RANDALL’S ISLAND, Manhattan (WABC) — The Electric Zoo Festival reached maximum capacity Sunday night ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’ and did not let anyone else in for safety reasons.
As a result, a crowd stormed the gates at the festival, causing even more chaos for an event that struggled to get on its feet on opening day.
Around 6 p.m., security workers stopped letting people in – even those who bought tickets.
Some fans did not leave quietly when they got to the gate and were told their ticket wouldn’t get them in. Soon after the news broke, social media videos show fans pushing their way in, rushing the gates, jumping over and crawling through a security checkpoint, then running into the festival.
The situation left police helpless and unable to stop the sheer number of people rushing into the event held at Randall’s Park.
While the festival still went on, many of the people who bought tickets and planned to go were turned away. Sonia Rincon has the details.
Fans’ disappointment has been building since Friday when day one of Electric Zoo was cancelled – the festival saying it had an issue getting a main stage up because of supply chain disruptions. Then, on Saturday, Day Two started two hours late. Sunday was the third and final day of the festival, and the turnout was more than they were prepared for.
The entrances to Randall’s Island from the Triboro Bridge – for pedestrians and vehicles were shut down.
Eyewitness News spoke to some fans who bought tickets month ago and never made it in – and one who witnessed what he called the ‘stampede,’ saying all the running made him wonder if there was an active shooter, so he and his friends felt uneasy and called it a night early.
“We just saw all of the equipment, the tents, stuff like that being knocked down so we didn’t know what to do. It was a crazy situation. And after that it was impossible to get to any of the sets. So after that, it was hard getting out last night, so we thought, might as well just get out of there,” said John McGuire.
“They will refund us the money that we spent, so I’m fine as long as we’re safe, so we’re good,” said Cicero Clamor.
The festival put out a statement around 6:30 p.m. saying in part,
“It is with deep regret that we need to inform you that due to the challenges caused by Friday cancelation, we have reached our venue’s capacity earlier than anticipated for today, Sunday. For the safety and well-being of everyone on site, we will not be admitting any additional attendees today.”
The statement went on to say it promises to refund their money and make it up to the fans.
Fans expressed outrage on social media were upset not just with the lack of capacity, but the lack of security, and are wondering how it will do that.
There is no word if there were any injuries. No arrests were made.
https://abc7ny.com/2023-electric-zoo-festival-day-2-resume-randalls-island-park-nyc/13735175/
49ers fans attack each other in massive brawl at Levi’s Stadium
A large fight erupted in the stands at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara during Thursday night’s NFL game.
The San Francisco 49ers were taking on the New York Giants when a group of the so-called “Niner Gang” turned on each other. The video posted by @T_Stephenson1 on X shows what appeared to be a fight between two women when a male bystander grabbed the hair of one of the combatants and pulled her down.
Another man then tried to get involved in the fight and ended up getting punched and kicked by the bystanders.
Security guards arrived and control of the situation at that point.
It was unclear what started the brawl or if any disciplinary action was taken against any of the participants.
The 49ers had much less trouble on the field Thursday night, easily beating the Giants 30-12.
Violent altercations between fans in the stands appear to be turning into a trend this season. 49ers fans were involved in a fight earlier this month during a preseason game against the Denver Broncos.
A Patriots fan died following an altercation with a Miami Dolphins fan at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 17.
Also in September, a man was knocked out by a headbutt from a Bengals fan and multiple fights broke out in the stands in Dallas during a game between the Cowboys and New York Jets.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/49ers-fans-attack-other-massive-142415186.html
Massachusetts police investigating death of Patriots fan during game at Gillette Stadium
Callie Lawson-Freeman
Tue, Sep 19, 2023
The death of a man during Sunday night’s New England Patriots game against the Miami Dolphins is being investigated by Massachusetts State Police and a county district attorney’s office, according to multiple reports.
The 53-year-old was identified as Dale Mooney by the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, per a report from NBC News.
He was in 300-level seating inside Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, when he had an “apparent medical event” before 11 p.m., state police reportedly said. Police and firefighters responded and he was pronounced dead at Sturdy Memorial Hospital, according to the report.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office is investigating the death as part of “normal protocol,” the prosecutor’s office told NBC News.
Charges have yet to be filed in connection to Mooney’s death. Progress of the active investigation will depend on an autopsy, which could be conducted Tuesday, the District Attorney’s Office’s statement reportedly said.
People tailgate outside Gillette Stadium before an NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
A man died at Gillette Stadium during an NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Police are “investigating the facts and circumstances of the man’s death, including the sequence of events prior to the medical incident,” David Procopio, a spokesman for the state police, told The Foxboro Reporter.
Witnesses described NBC10 Boston a fight breaking out before Mooney’s death:
“It was really one punch that I saw and the victim got punched really hard on the side of the head and went down. He’s a bigger guy but he just crumbled,” one witness told the local outlet.
The witness went on to describe a “brutal” scene that unfolded as first responders arrived and performed compressions on Mooney for 10 minutes:
“It was pretty heartbreaking and the game was still going on so the general public clearly knew what was going on in our section so the game was going on, people are cheering for the Patriots comeback, and this poor guy has passed away before our eyes,” the witness added.
There are multiple cell phone videos circulating of the incident. One shows security attempting to break up the fight.
Lisa Mooney told Boston’s ABC6 that her husband, Dale, was being provoked by other fans during the game, which led to a fight where another man allegedly punched him in the head three times. She added that she wasn’t aware of her husband having a preexisting medical condition.
“It takes a lot to get him mad,” Mooney’s wife said. “He has the patience of a saint. I don’t know what happened.”
Mooney’s wife told NBC10 Boston that he went to Gillette Stadium to support the Patriots for many years. They were together for more than three decades and had two sons together.
Madagascar stadium crush claims 12, 80 hurt
Article posted by Coliseum, September 4th, 2023
At least 12 people have been killed and 80 injured after a stampede occurred of sport fans trying to enter Madagascar’s (an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa) national stadium for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games.
‘ALJAZEERA’ stated that the stampede occurred at the entrance to the Barea Stadium on August 25th where a crowd of about 50,000 spectators had arrived to attend the event.
The 41,000-capacity Kianja Barea Mahamasina is a rugby union and football stadium, also used for concerts and athletics, in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
The Indian Ocean Island Games is a quadrennial multisport event from the Indian Ocean island nations. The Games was created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1977 and currently gather the island nations and territories of Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Réunion, and the Maldives.
The 2023 Indian Ocean Island Games kicked off in Madagascar from August 25th and will continue till September 3rd.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a non-governmental sports organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss Civil Code.
‘ALJAZEERA’ further stated that Madagascar’s Prime Minister Christian Ntsay told reporters at a hospital in Antananarivo, “The provisional toll shows 12 dead and some 80 injured.”
The President of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina, who was present at the opening ceremony, called for a minute of silence.
“A tragic event occurred because there was pushing. There were injuries and deaths at the entrance,” he said in a televised speech.
TV broadcast showed dazed and shocked people trying to locate their shoes piled amongst objects lost in the deadly crush.
Other images from inside the stadium, shared on social media, showed the stands packed with spectators.
At least 15 people were killed in a similar incident at the Mahamasina stadium in 2019.