Updated: Phillies Fan Killed in Brawl; Charges Filed
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Saturday’s 14-6 Phillies win over the St. Louis Cardinals was marred by a melee in the parking lot that had spilled over from McFadden’s at the ballpark. There was a bachelor party going on inside the restaurant, which is connected to the stadium, when the fight broke out and spilled into Parking Lot M at 7th St. and Pattison Avenue. The brawl involved at least 25 people, killing one and sending another to the hospital with serious wounds. The second group involved in the fight was a bus load of fans from Fishtown on a bar tour. The man killed in the brawl has been identified as 22-year-old David Sale, the brother of the bride-to-be. The second man taken to the hospital was attacked by the mob as he happened to walk through the parking lot. He was treated and released for non-life threatening injuries.
It has been reported through numerous media outlets that the fight started over some spilled beer. The bachelor party had previously been tossed from the stadium by security for getting out of control so they decided to go to McFadden’s, which has a separate entrance from the ballpark. The two groups were then tossed from the restaurant/bar too. Two men were taken into custody on Monday morning and a third is excpected to turn himself into police. The two men charged were 35-year-old Charles Bowers and 45-year-old James Groves. The third man has been identified as 28-year-old Francis Kirchner. All three men are from Philadelphia and were on the bus tour of bars in the city. The two men in custody have been charged with murder. It was reported that Sale was held down by two men while being punched and kicked repeatedly in the head and face. Even though there were roughly 25-30 involved in the fight the police rounded up around 60 people from the two groups for questioning after the incident.
