Police charge Panthers fan who threw sucker punch with assault, release mugshot
Charlotte police made a notable arrest on Friday
By
John Breech
•
1 min read
The Carolina Panthers fan who threw an ugly sucker punch at Bank of America Stadium on Thursday has been arrested.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Friday evening that the man who threw the punch, Kyle Adam Maraghy, has been taken into custody and charged with simple assault.
The hunt for Maraghy started Friday morning after video surfaced from that Eagles-Panthers game that showed the 26-year-old man punching another fan multiple times. In the video (which you can see here), Maragahy threw at least three punches before other fans intervened. The victim in the case is a 62-year-old man, who also happened to be a Panthers fan.
The man who took the video, Warren Carrigan, said he shared the video on social media because he wanted to see "justice for the poor old guy who just wanted to watch a football game."
By Friday afternoon, the CMPD had identified Maraghy and at that point, they began the process that eventually led to his arrest later in the day.
According to Carrigan's description of the incident, Maragahy got more unruly as the game went on, which eventually led to the punch.
"Words gradually got more and more escalated," Carrigan wrote on Facebook. "There previously was a single mom and her son between us, they left halfway through the [third quarter]. After that, the lid was off, the dude took offense to the couple never sitting down and obstructing his view. The victim telling the dude bro how they're being jerks and how rude they are for not sitting."
According to Carrigan, Maraghy also cursed at the victim multiple times.
The Panthers denounced the assaulter in the video in a statement on Friday.
"We have reviewed video tape of the incident and have identified the perpetrator," the team said. "We are working with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department to pursue charges to the fullest extent of the law. The behavior exhibited by the perpetrator is unacceptable and will not be condoned at Bank of America Stadium."
Maraghy is currently being held in the Mecklenburg County Jail on a $1,500 bond.
