INGLEWOOD – The San Francisco 49ers fan severely injured in an altercation during Sunday’s NFC championship game at SoFi Stadium allegedly shoved a man wearing a Rams jersey from behind, Inglewood Mayor James Butts said Thursday.
Upon review of surveillance footage, investigators determined Daniel Luna was mingling with a group of people primarily wearing red 49ers jerseys when he allegedly shoved a man wearing a Rams jersey from behind, Butts said at a Thursday evening news conference.
“The suspect then retaliated by pushing Mr. Luna from behind, and then struck (him) once in the mouth area,” Butts said. “Luna then fell to the ground, where he was later found by security personnel who summoned paramedics.”
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When asked why no one from Inglewood Police Department were present during the late night press conference, the mayor responded “they are out investigating” the case.
The man who punched Luna was seen in the security footage interacting with the occupants of a vehicle following the altercation before he left the scene.
Authorities did not release a description of the man or the vehicle, and Butts said the security footage was “very blurry.” However, he said authorities obtained the vehicle’s license plate number and were attempting to locate and interview the owner.
Luna, who was wearing a 49ers jersey, was found injured in Parking Lot L of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood around 4 p.m. Sunday — about 30 minutes after the start of the Rams’ 20-17 victory over San Francisco that advanced them to Super Bowl LVI.
Luna was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he was placed in a medically induced coma with extensive injuries to his face and upper body.
Due to the nature of Luna’s injuries, hospital officials notified Inglewood police about three hours after the altercation took place.
Butts deflected suggestions that the city and police delayed reports of Luna’s assault, claiming instead that authorities only learned of a crime occurred after reviewing the security footage.
“To be blunt about it, it looked like a small altercation that went very bad from one punch and someone hitting their head on the ground,” said Butts, a former Santa Monica Police Department chief and a deputy chief with the Inglewood Police Department.
SoFi Stadium officials issued a statement saying, “We are aware and saddened by the incident. Our thoughts are with Mr. Luna’s friends and family during this difficult time. We are working with law enforcement officials in their investigation.”
The altercation was eerily reminiscent of the 2011 beating of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow in a Dodger Stadium parking lot. Stow was left with permanent brain damage.
The 49ers issued a statement Thursday, saying, “What happened to Daniel Luna is reprehensible and we strongly condemn all violence. We know local authorities are conducting a full investigation and we’re here to support them however we can. Our thoughts and prayers go to Mr. Luna, his family, friends, and the medical team providing him care.”
Luna, 40, flew to Los Angeles and attended the game alone after other fans who were to accompany him canceled, the Los Angeles Times reported. He owns the Oakland Peruvian fusion restaurant Mistura.
In addition to the Super Bowl, the City is hosting a Taste of Inglewood, a three-day concert festival Feb. 10 – 12.
2UrbanGirls contributed to this report.
1 Comment
There seems to be a few conflicts between who knew what and when or just plain failure to follow a policy or perhaps an intentional attempt to not let the public know what happened.
Security call the paramedics Sunday approximately 4pm
The injured man was taken to Harbor General in Torrance rather than Centinela Hospital less than one mile away.
Harbor General staff notified IPD 3 hours later….IPD claims they new nothing unlike they reviewed footage.
Well let’s see there was
1 security report
2 paramedic report
3 hospital notification.
Then there is multiple injuries if it was one simple punch to the mouth how are the multiple upper body injuries explained?
Yep sounds like another batch of misrepresentations just like the lie that residents voted for this stadium no dear ones there WAS NEVER A BALLOT OPPORTUNITY for residents to vote for or against a stadium We voted for a 24 casino when it was in the race track building we vote against the Walmart project BUT WE NEVER VOTED FOR KROENKE or anyone else TO BUILD A FOOTBALL STADIUM .
Yes the DA should bring charges against he who violates the Brown Act, and his team for all the misuse of public dollars and the pay to play contracts. But Gascon and the FBI seem to like football seem to be blinded by football jerseys.