complaints after being sprayed with a tear gas-like
substance during a brawl between rival baseball fans at
Nagaragawa Stadium in Gifu Prefecture, officials said
Thursday.
Gifu police said the gas was sprayed into the stands from
the field as violence erupted after the game Wednesday night
between the Hanshin Tigers and the Chunichi Dragons.
Police said they are searching for a young man with brown
hair and a Hanshin Tigers megaphone who is suspected of
releasing the gas.
The fighting broke out at around 9:30 p.m. after the Central
League-leading Tigers beat the Dragons 7-2 in a game watched
by 23,000 spectators.
According to witnesses, about 10 Tigers fans descended onto
the field after the game to taunt Dragons fans seated behind
right field.
Several Dragons fans responded by jumping onto the field and
a fight broke out.
After fighting spread into the passageway between the right
stand and the infield stand, witnesses saw a young man using
a spray, police said. Pandemonium broke out as people
inhaled the gas, and witnesses said several people in the
passageway slumped to the ground.
The local fire department said the 53 people were given
first-aid treatment in a tent on the field. It said 31 of
the victims were sent to hospitals and seven were
hospitalized.