LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A spat between Dodgers and Giants fans turned violent when two men in Dodgers clothing severely beat a San Francisco supporter after the season opener between the rival teams.
The attack left the victim in critical but stable condition as authorities asked any possible witnesses Friday for help in identifying the assailants. Investigators also reviewed footage of the Thursday incident to see if any security camera captured it, but Detective Larry Burcher said so far they'd found "nothing of great value."
"We're very confident there were witnesses, it happened immediately following the game when everybody was coming out," Burcher said.
Police said the argument started when the two men in Dodgers clothing were exchanging barbed comments with three men in Giants gear as thousands of baseball fans left the stadium Thursday night after the Dodgers' 2-1 victory, Detective T.J. Moore said.
The Giants fans tried to distance themselves from their assailants, and two made it away from them, but one was struck with fists on the back of the head and as he fell, his head hit the ground in Parking Lot 2 on the third base side of the ballpark, Moore said.
Both attackers then kicked the victim, who suffered a head injury, and ran, Moore said. When the victim's friends turned around to look for him, they saw him on the ground and made their way back to him.
Police paramedics on bicycles were the first to arrive to help the victim. An ambulance was called and the victim was taken to a hospital, Moore said.
He remained in critical but stable condition Friday, the detective said. The victim has been identified, but his name was being withheld until police can talk to relatives, Moore said. Because his injuries were so severe, detectives had not yet talked to him, Moore said.
He was identified by KGO radio in San Francisco as Bryan Stow of Santa Cruz. Stow's brother-in-law, David Collins, told KGO that Stow has "swelling of the brain, a fractured skull, and ... a frontal lobe that's bruised pretty badly."
Moore said no one in the crowd had come forward with any cell phone or video camera footage, but also noted that there were so many people in the area that 90 percent of the crowd may not have even known what was going on.
The stadium has been plagued by opening day violence in the past.
In April 2009, a man stabbed his friend in the stadium parking lot after the home opener, in which the Dodgers beat the Giants 11-1. Arthur Alvarez was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Alvarez, who contended that he was knocked to the ground and acted in self-defense, was later acquitted by a jury.
The West Coast rivalry began on April 18, 1958, the first game played in California after both teams had moved from New York. The Dodgers beat the Giants 6-5 in a game played before nearly 79,000 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The attack left the victim in critical but stable condition as authorities asked any possible witnesses Friday for help in identifying the assailants. Investigators also reviewed footage of the Thursday incident to see if any security camera captured it, but Detective Larry Burcher said so far they'd found "nothing of great value."
"We're very confident there were witnesses, it happened immediately following the game when everybody was coming out," Burcher said.
Police said the argument started when the two men in Dodgers clothing were exchanging barbed comments with three men in Giants gear as thousands of baseball fans left the stadium Thursday night after the Dodgers' 2-1 victory, Detective T.J. Moore said.
The Giants fans tried to distance themselves from their assailants, and two made it away from them, but one was struck with fists on the back of the head and as he fell, his head hit the ground in Parking Lot 2 on the third base side of the ballpark, Moore said.
Both attackers then kicked the victim, who suffered a head injury, and ran, Moore said. When the victim's friends turned around to look for him, they saw him on the ground and made their way back to him.
Police paramedics on bicycles were the first to arrive to help the victim. An ambulance was called and the victim was taken to a hospital, Moore said.
He remained in critical but stable condition Friday, the detective said. The victim has been identified, but his name was being withheld until police can talk to relatives, Moore said. Because his injuries were so severe, detectives had not yet talked to him, Moore said.
He was identified by KGO radio in San Francisco as Bryan Stow of Santa Cruz. Stow's brother-in-law, David Collins, told KGO that Stow has "swelling of the brain, a fractured skull, and ... a frontal lobe that's bruised pretty badly."
Moore said no one in the crowd had come forward with any cell phone or video camera footage, but also noted that there were so many people in the area that 90 percent of the crowd may not have even known what was going on.
The stadium has been plagued by opening day violence in the past.
In April 2009, a man stabbed his friend in the stadium parking lot after the home opener, in which the Dodgers beat the Giants 11-1. Arthur Alvarez was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Alvarez, who contended that he was knocked to the ground and acted in self-defense, was later acquitted by a jury.
The West Coast rivalry began on April 18, 1958, the first game played in California after both teams had moved from New York. The Dodgers beat the Giants 6-5 in a game played before nearly 79,000 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
