SoFi beating victim remains in coma as his family appeals to the public for information
The family of a San Francisco 49ers fan who remains in a coma after being assaulted at SoFi Stadium during the NFC Conference championship game against the Rams is appealing to the public for information about the attack.
The victim, Daniel Luna, underwent a hemicraniectomy on the right side of his head to relieve internal pressure and remained in critical condition in intensive care at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, the family said in a statement Saturday.
“We know he has a long road ahead of him,” the family said. “Right now, we are focused on Daniel’s care and getting through this traumatic and horribly difficult time. We want to make sure these NFL events are safe and secure for everyone and that all parties responsible for this tragic and violent attack will be held accountable so that something like this never happens again.”
Luna, the 40-year-old chef of a Peruvian fusion restaurant in Oakland, was discovered on the ground by Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics in the stadium’s Lot L about 4 p.m., half an hour into the Rams-49ers game on Sunday, said Inglewood Police Lt. Geoffrey Meeks.
A suspect, Bryan Alexis Cifuentes-Rossell, 33, was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of “assault by a means to produce great bodily injury,” a felony, Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. said during a news conference Friday morning.
A man was arrested on suspicion of felony assault in connection with the case, but legal experts say that could be difficult to prove.
The mayor said video had emerged showing people mingling in the parking lot when Luna, wearing a white jersey “that some think was a throwback 49ers jersey,” allegedly pushed another man — who was wearing a yellow jersey believed to be a Rams jersey — from behind.
The other man then pushed Luna and struck him in the face, Butts said. Luna fell to the ground and hit his head.
Police traced Cifuentes-Rossell’s address in Los Angeles after surveillance video showed his car inside the stadium lot, providing a license plate number, Butts said. They left contact information at his home.
Cifuentes-Rossell later contacted police but declined to come to the department to be interviewed, Butts said. Officers then went to his workplace in Montebello, and he “voluntarily accompanied them to the Inglewood Police Department” and was taken into custody.
He was released in lieu of $30,000 bail at 1 a.m. Friday, Butts said.
A source with the Inglewood Police Department told The Times that Cifuentes-Rossell is claiming self-defense. Butts would not say whether Luna would also face charges for the altercation, noting “that would be up to the district attorney’s office.”
“They will look at the totality of the circumstances and they will make their decision,” he said, adding that it doesn’t appear from the video footage that anyone else was involved in the altercation.
Sam Singer, a Luna family spokesman, declined to comment on the reports about circumstances of the assault.
“We’ll leave it up to investigators,” Singer said in an interview Saturday. “Everyone is waiting to find out what led to this.”
Singer described Luna as a “gregarious, kind, outgoing and generous” man who loved football and soccer, along with travel with his wife Irena, who emigrated from Poland. “Everyone is lighting a candle and hoping for the best,” he said.
The family thanked Luna’s medical team for caring for him and law enforcement for pursuing the case.
The family also urged anyone with any information, photos or videos of the attack to contact Inglewood Police Department Det. Will Salmon at 310-412-5115 or wsalmon@cityofinglewood.org.
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