Crime & Safety
No Arrests Yet for the Philly Flyers Fanatics Who Assaulted a Woodbridge Cop
Philly police are still on the lookout for a group of Flyers fans who assaulted Woodbridge Patrolman Neal Auricchio, Jr. following Monday's Winter Classic.
Police in Philadelphia are still on the hunt for a group of after a hockey game.
Auricchio, a former Marine who was awared a Purple Heart in Iraq, was attacked at Geno's Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia on January 2nd, following the NHL Winter Classic, an annual outdoor hockey game that this year featured the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers. Auricchio is on medical leave until he is cleared to return to work, reports ESPN New York.
, Auricchio sustained injuries that required stitches around one eye, while the other was swelled shut. Auricchio's son and a friend were also involved in the assault, each of whom escaped the fracas with minor injuries.
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Video of the assault was posted to YouTube shortly afterwards, and Philadelphia police have released their own version of the video, highlighting specific features of the assailants in an attempt to find the men responsible for the attack.
One man, Edward Neary, posted on the Flyers fan blog Broad Street Hockey's Facebook page, claiming responsibility. Neary's comment, since deleted, states, "It was me and my friends do somethin about it u [expletive]."
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Neary later backtracked, pinning the assault on three friends, before deleting all of his comments from the page.
"I saw the video of the fight on my personal Facebook page, and it bugged me," said Travis Hughes, Managing Editor of Broad Street Hockey. "When we're trying to combat the reputation Philly fans have, I think the only way you can do it is to ostracize people who claim to be Flyers fans who do that kind of stuff."
After Neary's comments were posted, Hughes added Neary as a friend on Facebook, gathering his personal information before Neary rescinded the friend request. "I passed everything along I had to the police," said Hughes.
"Fox 29 in Philly was at [Neary]'s house yesterday, and I know that Philly police did bring him down for an interview. They called and they at least took a look at the guy," said Hughes, though ESPN's Katie Strang is now reporting that Nealy's comments were nothing more than a prank, and no arrests have been made.
"The investigation is being handled by the Philadelphia police department," said spokesman John Hagerty. "The investigation is ongoing. Neal continues to recover and is doing fine."
