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Indiana National Guard investigating soldier’s alleged involvement in brawl at Cubs game

Posted at 8:14 AM, Sep 27, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-27 08:14:53-04

CHICAGO, Ill. – A viral video shows a racially-charged fight break out in the bleacher section of Wrigley Field Monday night during the team’s Hispanic Heritage Day.

The brawl broke out in the bleachers after Monday night’s 5-1 lossto the Pittsburgh Pirates. At least one person was caught on video shouting racial slurs as security struggled to separate the participants, according to WGN.

David Holcombe was at the game and said he saw a pile of people that had each other in headlocks and were punching each other. He said it was crazy and out of control. He said his friend was the one who took video on his cellphone and was posted on Twitter.

Holcombe said the man in the black T-shirt seen in the videos was the one who instigated the fight against a group of Hispanic men sitting near him.

“He cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed two racial slurs at the Latino folks that were there, then pointed at us and told us to stop recording and made a comment about how he was worried about getting kicked out of some unit,” Holcombe said.

The unit the man was referring to was the Indiana National Guard, which released the following statement regarding the incident:

The statements made by this individual are not in keeping with the Army Values, and they do not reflect the views or beliefs of the United States Armed Forces, and specifically, the Indiana National Guard.
We take these types of situations very seriously, and the conduct of this individual is unbecoming of a service member. The Indiana National Guard is conducting a thorough inquiry to determine the details surrounding this incident.

The National Guard did not identify anyone in the video.

**WARNING: Videos contain language that be offensive to some viewers**

One of the videos shows several people fighting, while others attempt to separate two men from the group. One man is heard repeatedly yelling, “There’s no fighting in the bleachers!”

As the fight dies down, one man is heard shouting a racial slur targeted at Hispanic people. In response, the fight starts again. Security is then seen trying to intervene. A woman is heard yelling at the security guards that they will “never know what it’s like.”

In the second video, a man can be seen more clearly on that second video shouting racial slurs at another man. He then shouts to the person recording to stop recording him. Security can be seen trying to separate everyone in the brawl.

Security can also be heard on the same video telling the person recording that because they are on private property, they are not allowed to record. The video then cuts off.

Chicago police said they received a complaint about the incident. They said Wrigley security and detectives interviewed the individuals involved. No charges have been filed and police said the people involved were cooperating.

WGN is not identifying the man accused of shouting the slurs because he has not been charged. WGN visited the man's home in Justice, Ill., and his mother answered the door. She said she had no comment.

The man is also a college student at Indiana University and a member of the Phi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. The organization said they are investigating.

The Cubs said all parties involved in the fight were escorted out of the stadium and interviewed by officials. They said they have zero tolerance against fighting.

Read the full statement:

Our events security team immediately responded and all parties involved in the altercation were separated, escorted out the ballpark and interviewed by police and security.  There was no conclusion as to what started or who instigated the fight last night.  No charges were filed and no arrests were made.  We have a zero tolerance against fighting so all the individuals involved will be barred from Wrigley Field for the remainder of 2018 though the guest who used the inappropriate language will likely be banned indefinitely.

Holcombe said the Cubs called his friend to ask him to take the video down.

"It feels like people are worried about reputations rather than social justice," he said.