Two men stabbed, three arrested in fight before UCLA-USC football game

CORRECTION: The original version of this article contained an error. Joshua Dirling was released from the hospital, but Vimal Patel was still hospitalized.

PASADENA “”mdash; Two men were stabbed at the Rose Bowl during a brawl Saturday before the annual football game between UCLA and USC, police said.

Three men have been arrested in connection to the fight and are currently being held in Pasadena jail.

An emergency phone call around 4:30 p.m. alerted police of a fight among about 30 people in Lot 1, north of the stadium. Police later reported breaking up a fight of upwards of 40 people within 10 minutes of arriving.

Scott Martinez, a 25-year-old Cal Poly Pomona student, said he was standing next to the fight and saw a slew of people wearing USC and UCLA colors. A cell phone video obtained by ABC 7 showed a similar scene.

Arturo Cisneros, 44, has been detained on suspicion of attempted murder. Steven Radu, 27, and Joshua Elder, 24, are being held on suspicion of assault on a police officer. The three were originally arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. No other arrests related to the melee were made.

Vimal Patel, a 24-year-old Cal State Fullerton student, was stabbed eight times in the back after a group of tailgaters confronted him, according to the Los Angeles Times. The other victim, Joshua Dirling, 27, was stabbed in the cheek, according to the Times. Both were treated with non-life-threatening injuries. Dirling was released from Huntington Memorial Hospital, but Patel was still hospitalized.

Neither the hospital nor the police had confirmed the names of the victims as of press time. Cal State Fullerton did not return calls asking to confirm if Patel is a student.

Two police officers were also injured. One had a sprained ankle, the other a sprained wrist. Both were treated by medical personnel.

Alcohol and school pride both contributed to the fight’s occurence, Pasadena police commander Darryl Qualls said Saturday.

Qualls said Sunday that the USC–UCLA rivalry always involves a lot of emotion.

“When those two teams come together, we see more arrests,” he said.

But one witness, Renee Breceda, told the Times the fight had nothing to do with the rivalry and was caused by drunken men looking to start a fight. Breceda is Dirling’s girlfriend, the Times added.

Detectives are interviewing the suspects and victims and will have a more complete report Monday, Qualls said.

Cisneros is being held on $500,000 bail. Radu and Elder are each being held on $50,000 bail. Police said they do not know if any of the suspects have retained attorneys.

Several arrests unrelated to the fight were made Saturday at the Rose Bowl, though police were unable to provide details as of press time.

During the last UCLA–USC football game at the Rose Bowl in 2008, about 50 people were arrested on various charges.

Any witnesses with information or footage of the scene are urged to contact Pasadena police at 626-744-4241.

With reports from Daniel Schonhaut, Kelly Zhou, Kylie Reynolds and Devin Kelly, Bruin senior staff.