Facebook Video Shows 49ers Fans Beating Vikings Fan
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A disturbing video appears to show several San Francisco 49ers fans beating up a Vikings fan after Monday night's game in San Francisco.
You can see it appears to show one 49ers fan kicking the Vikings fan in the head. This 70-second video has been viewed more than 1.5 million times since it was posted online late Monday night.
Police from the Bay Area suburb of Santa Clara, where the 49er's Levi's Stadium is, say they don't know who the victim is so there isn't much they can do yet. But they're looking into it.
The video is posted on the Facebook account of a man who appears to live in the Bay area named Brandon Cosio who says he saw everything. On the Facebook page, Cosio appears to have posted his account of what led to the kicking and punching.
Click here to watch the video. (Warning: Video contains violence and strong language.)
He says the Vikings fan was instigating a fight with his words, saying "What's up, any of you - - ers want some?" when a 49ers fan in the black tackled the man and threw the first punch. Many people are heard yelling "stop!" in the video.
A member of the security company contracted to work the 49ers games tries to break up the fight and eventually you see the Vikings fan is able to walk away. It's unclear how serious his injuries may have been.
Both the Vikings team and the 49ers sent WCCO statements about this incident. The 49ers say, "We are aware of the disturbing incident following last night's game and are working in collaboration with the Santa Clara Police Department to investigate."
The Vikings also called this incident troubling and said, "We sincerely hope everyone involved is okay. We are in contact with NFL security and the 49ers organization."
In 2013, WCCO's Liz Collin dug into security and fan behavior at Vikings games. Among the findings from the 2012-2013 season was the fact that 49ers, Raiders, Broncos and Patriots games were followed with thousands of arrests every year. In San Francisco alone, 630 ejections were recorded in just one season. In comparison, the Vikings had fewer than 100.
WCCO is looking into the circumstances surrounding the incident. Check back for further developments.