Assault at Orioles game sends man to intensive care

[Nigel Tufnel]

For anyone who wants the info, I found this on the Orioles OPACY A-to-Z webpage:

Security Procedures - In park

While enjoying an Oriole game at Camden Yards, if you see a problem or need assistance, you can easily and discretely contact Oriole Park Security or an Event Staff Supervisor by texting the word "Orioles", then a space, followed by your issue and seat location to 69050. Standard SMS rates apply.

I think we all should consider sending texts any time we see anything like this, even if it's not happening to us. The more people that report unruly jerks, the sooner they'll be removed from the stadium.

[RichmondOsFan]

Sad to see that Fortese's condition has worsened, is now critical

I hope Fleischman in particular (threw the punch) gets what's coming to him.

Bell and Fleischman both behaved like complete losers. I did see a commenter on one article allege that he was attending that game and sitting nearby, witnessed everything. He stated that following continuous verbal abuse, and the beer throwing incident, Fortese climbed up over several rows and concrete barriers, confronted the two jerks, then physically attacked Bell, who did not fight back but only attempted to evade/fend off punches from Fortese. According to this particular witness, it was only after Fortese attacked Bell that Fleischman hit Fortese, knocking him from his precarious perch. Even if true, this does nothing to excuse the reprehensible behavior of the two men arrested, but it does paint a somewhat different picture of the final events.

[Mayor McCheese]

Where in the stadium did this happen? I'm trying to visualize it.

It was at section 86/87

[Mayor McCheese]

Sad to see that Fortese's condition has worsened, is now critical

I hope Fleischman in particular (threw the punch) gets what's coming to him.

Bell and Fleischman both behaved like complete losers. I did see a commenter on one article allege that he was attending that game and sitting nearby, witnessed everything. He stated that following continuous verbal abuse, and the beer throwing incident, Fortese climbed up over several rows and concrete barriers, confronted the two jerks, then physically attacked Bell, who did not fight back but only attempted to evade/fend off punches from Fortese. According to this particular witness, it was only after Fortese attacked Bell that Fleischman hit Fortese, knocking him from his precarious perch. Even if true, this does nothing to excuse the reprehensible behavior of the two men arrested, but it does paint a somewhat different picture of the final events.

He never attacked them. Just confronted them since they were in different sections. He had enough of it and just said 5-6 words ( I am not sure how you can consider that an attack lol ) before being punched.

[SeaBird]

Sad to see that Fortese's condition has worsened, is now critical

I hope Fleischman in particular (threw the punch) gets what's coming to him.

Bell and Fleischman both behaved like complete losers. I did see a commenter on one article allege that he was attending that game and sitting nearby, witnessed everything. He stated that following continuous verbal abuse, and the beer throwing incident, Fortese climbed up over several rows and concrete barriers, confronted the two jerks, then physically attacked Bell, who did not fight back but only attempted to evade/fend off punches from Fortese. According to this particular witness, it was only after Fortese attacked Bell that Fleischman hit Fortese, knocking him from his precarious perch. Even if true, this does nothing to excuse the reprehensible behavior of the two men arrested, but it does paint a somewhat different picture of the final events.

I've read a lot of reports and this mention that Fortese attacked Bell is the first time I've read that. Please share the link to the article you referenced.

[RichmondOsFan]

I've read a lot of reports and this mention that Fortese attacked Bell is the first time I've read that. Please share the link to the article you referenced.

I wish I'd copied/pasted when I saw it a few days ago. Pretty sure it was an article I linked to after clicking on a link here, if that makes sense. I *think* it was this guy "mrfrizzle," who wrote the post I'm about to post/link, although it was a different post/article (I think it was a Facebook post?) with a lot more detail. Here's his post that I did find:

mfrizzle - Jun 1, 2013 at 6:37 PM

"This happened about 5 rows behind me. Both sets of fans were going at it all night. Too bad this happened when the O’s were rallying. It put a damper on an otherwise incredible game. Oh, and if by confront the two guys who threw the beer you mean try to climb over a railing and go after them, yes, that’s what happened. That’s why ushers and police are there. Report it and let them handle it."

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/01/two-charged-after-alleged-assault-at-orioles-game-sends-man-to-intensive-care/comment-page-1/#comments

My guess is, if he's really a witness, police/lawyers will find him and we'll hear about his official version at some point.

Edit: Found it, was somebody else:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-orioles-game-assault-20130531,0,511562.story

canthandlethiz (signed in using yahoo)

Don't be so quick to judge so harshly... I was sitting a few rows behind Bell and Fleischman and saw the entire altercation.

Beer was thrown onto Fortrese and the girl that he was with (which seemed to be why he was initially angry).

Fortrese got up and started yelling at Bell and his friends, who taunted him back. Bell then said something that made Fortrese flip out. I did not hear what they were yelling, just got the general gist of it from the reactions of the parties involved.

Fortrese ran up to the wall and jumped up to the outside of the railing where Bell and Fleischman were sitting (5-6 feet, they were in an elevated section). HE then began attacking BELL by throwing punches and attempting to grab him and pull him over the railing.

He did NOT get knocked over the railing like this article states, as he was never over it in the first place.

Bell was attempting to avoid Fortese's punches and grabs, and Fleischman didn't throw the punch until a good 5-10 seconds into the attack. Bell never threw a punch back, and never attempted to physically harm Fortese that I could tell beyond an attempt at a stiff-arm to keep him away.

Fortese and the people near him also never made an attempt at getting park security or ushers involved before escalating it physically.

The beer-throwing and over-the-top taunting is despicable in itself, but Fortese was absolutely the physical aggressor. It is unfortunate that his injuries are so severe, but he is NOT blameless in this situation and the lack of the full story from all these news reports is both alarming and depressing to me.

[Dipper9]

This has been an interesting discussion, and I hope it continues, but it make me absolutely sick that a man is fighting for his life after going on a date to a baseball game. What the hell?

[SilentJames]

Because humans suck Dip. Humans suck at being people.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[LayzieDES]

Because humans suck Dip. Humans suck at being people.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

Individual humans can suck. Not all are idiots.

[El Gordo]

I hope Fortese recovers and returns to his family in Hagerstown. I hope Fleischman and Bell will also soon be residing in Hagerstown.

[atomic]

Sad to see that Fortese's condition has worsened, is now critical

I hope Fleischman in particular (threw the punch) gets what's coming to him.

Bell and Fleischman both behaved like complete losers. I did see a commenter on one article allege that he was attending that game and sitting nearby, witnessed everything. He stated that following continuous verbal abuse, and the beer throwing incident, Fortese climbed up over several rows and concrete barriers, confronted the two jerks, then physically attacked Bell, who did not fight back but only attempted to evade/fend off punches from Fortese. According to this particular witness, it was only after Fortese attacked Bell that Fleischman hit Fortese, knocking him from his precarious perch. Even if true, this does nothing to excuse the reprehensible behavior of the two men arrested, but it does paint a somewhat different picture of the final events.

Sounds like self-defense. Esculation of a situation always leads to trouble. Someone throws a beer at you doesn't mean you should climb up and punch them.

[atomic]

I hope Fortese recovers and returns to his family in Hagerstown. I hope Fleischman and Bell will also soon be residing in Hagerstown.

What did the guy Bell do? Why was he even arrested?

[atomic]

Whether the two idiots threw the first punch or not, they assaulted the guy and his girlfriend first. Throwing a beer on someone qualifies, IMO.

Throwing a beer on someone doesn't equal punching someone.

[FlipCup]

For the people that say throwing a beer on someone doesn't equate to punching someone...have you ever had a beer thrown on you or at your girlfriend/wife. If so, you're telling me that you would go to an usher and have them escorted out? Yes, that is the practical thing to do but not when emotion kicks in, be realistic.

[LayzieDES]

Throwing a beer on someone doesn't equal punching someone.

It is still considered assault that can result in a criminal charge.

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1024213