Video shows New York Rangers fan push Bruins fan down stairs during fight at TD Garden
Video shows a New York Rangers fan push a Boston Bruins fan down the stairs at TD Garden after a series of heated exchanges, court documents reveal.
The incident happened on Saturday, just after 3 p.m. between the second and third periods. Witnesses said that the victim, who told police he had at least 7 beers, was taunting people in the stands.
"You could kind of tell he had quite a few drinks at that time. He was falling out of his seat. Falling onto the stairs," said the witness, who asked to remain anonymous.
The interactions between the 66-year-old victim and 48-year-old Aaron Tucker of Vermont then began to escalate. Tucker's wife told police that the victim was getting "uncomfortably close to her." Witnesses then saw the victim putting his middle finger in her face, according to a police report.
Witnesses told police that the victim's friends were trying to get him to leave to avoid any fights.
"I don't know how a human could bend that way."
The witness said that Tucker then turned to his group of friends who were seated directly next to him and said,"'If he comes over here, I'm going to grab him by the throat and throw him down the stairs.'"
After one more altercation, Tucker then allegedly grabbed the victim by the neck and pushed him down the stairs. The victim then fell into the seating section below.
"When he went airborne, he went over two rows of club seats, skipped the third row, and hit his head on the concrete wall," the witness explained. "He just completely folded, upside down, on the concrete and there was a line of blood going down the concrete wall. I don't know how a human can bend the way that he did."
Officers arrived to find the victim lying on the ground "semi-conscious, breathing with eyes slightly open." He was taken to a Boston hospital with a cut on the back of his head and is being tested for a concussion, according to a court report. He told EMTs he had no idea why he was going to the hospital. The victim told WBZ-TV on Monday that he is doing fine but doesn't want to comment further.
Court documents said that Tucker and his girlfriend left the arena immediately following the fight. He was arrested shortly after on Lafayette Avenue in the North End.
He has been charged with two counts of assault and battery, one to cause serious bodily injury and another on a person over the age of 60. Tucker told WBZ-TV's Louisa Moller that he is sorry for what happened and that it "wasn't him." He declined to go on camera.
Tucker will be arraigned in Boston court on Friday.
