Assailants released after fans' beating

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) - Buffalo Bills security let several suspected assailants go after a National Guard Airman and a State Parks worker suffered brutal beatings outside Ralph Wilson Stadium last Thursday.

Eric Tones was assaulted while leaving the Bills-Miami Dolphins game with friends after the third quarter. His jaw was broken and his mouth is now wired shut. His best friend Brad Gebauer was also attacked. Gebauer required two staples in his head and a bone around his eye was broken.

A witness tells News 4 that Apex security officers reacted almost immediately. Sources close to the investigation say two, possibly three suspects, were taken into custody, but then released. No one seems to know why.

RELATED | Our original report greatly details the serious injuries both men suffered

The witness said, "I was told that they had two people that were in custody. I confirmed that numerous times with the individual at the ER system at the Bill's stadium. She confirmed multiple times that, yes, the two people are in custody."

Erie County Sheriff's detectives now assigned to this case are not finding any indication that arrests were made. The Bills organization says it is still looking into the matter.

The victims and their families have been frustrated in their attempts to get answers.

Gebauer said, "They have nothing. No names, no nothing."

His mother, Pam Gebauer, said, "I just wish that someone who had seen it happen that knows anybody that did it, would just come forward."

Eric Tones' father, Frank Tones, added, "I'm hoping that people that did this to my son and his best friend so that they may never hurt another person again."

Sheriff's detectives are looking into the possibility that the assaults on the victims may not have been random attacks, that perhaps they were known to the victims. But for now, there is no way to identify those who were detained and then allowed to leave the stadium.

"I'm just blaming security for not giving me information as to how we can press charges against these individuals," Frank Tones said.

Another issue rests in how both men were treated. Each men had serious head injuries, but Gebauer says his injuries were not evaluated and that both he and Tones were taken to the hospital by a friend.