Authorities have identified Staten Island resident James Anastasio, 29, as the man seen in a viral video initiating an unjustified attack on a Lightning fan following Thursday’s playoff game, which New York lost.
He was detained late Thursday night and appeared in court for the first time, dressed in the same red Rangers jersey and grey sweatpants as the night before.
Last night, he was released on bond and will appear in court on June 29.
Since the attack, no one has been able to identify the victim.
It’s unknown what triggered the Anastasio’s outburst. After the Lightning defeated the Rangers, video shows the two heading along the concourse of Madison Square Garden.
The Lightning fan appeared to be taunting the opposing crowd with a chant. When Anastasio turned around and attacked him, he was going out of the venue with a friend.
As dozens of worried fans encircled the victim, he fled the scene. ‘He’s dead,’ one can be heard saying in the footage.
After that, Anastasio assaulted a Good Samaritan who attempted to stop him from departing.
After regaining consciousness, the sufferer was denied medical attention. Yesterday morning, he and his brother traveled back to Florida.
‘We were just trying to get out of there like everyone else,’ the brother told NBC, ‘and then all of a sudden, a drink was thrown at us, and me and my brother kind of separated at that second.’
‘The next thing I know, I look over, I hear a thud on the ground and it’s my brother laying there.
‘The thud. You can hear it in the video. I’ll never get that sound out of my head. My brother’s head hitting the ground.’
‘Sometimes choices in our lives have consequences. There’s nothing to defend. It is what it is. We’ll wait for him to come home, we’ll pick him up, and everything’s OK. Tomorrow’s a new day.’
The suspect’s landlord told NBC New York that Anastasio ‘didn’t seem violent’ and that he was shocked by the video.
Anastasio’s attorney Jason Goldman said: ‘We are in the very beginning stages of gathering and learning all the facts.’
‘For now, we want to assure James is released back to his family in a timely manner, then will turn our attention to defending him in court,’ he added.
Management at the Garden issued a statement on Friday saying that the ‘assailant’ would be banned from the venue for life, without naming Anastasio.
‘Last night, an abhorrent assault took place against a Tampa Bay fan at the conclusion of the game — followed by a second assault against an individual who bravely intervened,’ the statement said.
‘All guests — no matter what team they support — should feel safe and respected in The Garden,’ the venue added.
The Garden management said that the assaulted fan had been provided with medical care and would get ongoing support from its guest services team.
The Lightning defeated the Rangers 3-1 in Game 5 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals on Thursday.
After a New York turnover, Ondrej Palat’s tip-in broke the game with 1:50 left in regulation.
Tampa Bay is up three games to two in the best-of-seven series and can clinch a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup final on Saturday night if they beat the Rangers at home.
The Lightning are 6-1 at home in postseason, while the Rangers have a 2-7 road record in the playoffs.
At Thursday’s game, tensions were clearly running high on the ice, which culminated in a confrontation between players after the final horn.
After Lightning star Nikita Kucherov flung a meaningless shot off Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, players on both sides dropped their gloves.
Fox, who was coming off his third straight loss and was now facing elimination in Game 6 on Saturday, was enraged and retaliated by slashing the Russian-born winger.
Kucherov was understandably enraged, and many melees erupted around the rink at the same time.
The main event featured former first-overall selection picks Steven Stamkos of the Lightning and Alexis Lafreniere of the Rangers.
The incident at Madison Square Garden occurred at a time when violence in New York City is at an all-time high. When compared to the same period last year, overall crime is up about 40% in 2022.
Except for murder and shootings, every violent crime is on the rise in New York, with felony assault up 19 percent, burglary up 32 percent, and robbery up 39 percent.
Random attacks are also on the rise in New York City. On May 25, a 61-year-old Brooklyn man was slain while walking home when he was sucker punched by an attacker.
Victor Vega is seen walking beside two males before the incident in a video obtained by the NYPD. He is shown collapsing on his back after getting punched in the face.
One of the two assailants is seen searching through Vega’s pockets, extracting something suspicious, and passing it to his companion.
The two are then seen walking away nonchalantly while Vega lies motionless in the street.
His death was considered a homicide, and police are still looking for the two suspects.