Last Updated on November 15, 2023
Hockey player Matt Petgrave has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the fatal on-ice throat slashing of Adam Johnson. The arrest of Petgrave comes just days after an ice rink packed full of more than 8,000 people gave him a standing ovation in his first return to his home rink since he killed Johnson, leaving hockey fans and others around the world in complete shock.
Police in South Yorkshire, England have reportedly arrested Canadian ice hockey player Matt Petgrave in connection with the October 28th on-ice throat-slashing death of American former NHL player Adam Johnson.
The two men were playing in Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League when Petgrave made what appears to have been a deliberate leap at Johnson’s neck, leading with the blade of his skate as he rammed into Johnson and cut his throat open, leaving him to bleed to death on the ice as horrified teammates and medical staff desperately tried to save his life and get him to a local hospital.
Read More and Watch the Disturbing Video Footage: Hockey Player Accused of MURDER After Slashing Opponent’s Throat With Skate
Though Petgrave has been widely reported to be the man arrested by British police, law enforcement has refused to name their arrestee and has not yet filed any official charges. However, they are expected to do so, according to British sources and sports media reports.
As Sports Illustrated reported:
The arrest was announced Tuesday – 17 days after the incident – but South Yorkshire Police did not identify the person taken into custody. In a press release, the department said detectives “arrested a man on suspicion of manslaughter.”
The assumption is that the arrested individual is Sheffield hockey player Matt Petgrave, whose skate struck Johnson in the neck during the Oct. 28 game. Horrific video of the play saw Johnson fall to the ice and then attempt to skate to the bench while holding his neck. Blood covered the ice and Johnson was later pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital.
“Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive enquiries ever since to piece together the events which led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances,” South Yorkshire Police Detective Chief Superintendent Becs Horsfall said in the release.
As mentioned, the reported arrest of, and pending manslaughter charges for Matt Petgrave come as British hockey fans have rallied around him, even injecting race into the issue as Petgrave is a black Canadian. His supporters have claimed that, somehow, disapproval of Petgrave’s caught-on-camera slashing of Johnson’s throat, which appears to have been anything but accidental, is racist.
In video footage that went viral online in the days leading up to Petgrave’s reported arrest on suspicion of manslaughter, over 8,000 fans of Petgrave’s team, the Sheffield Steelers, rose to their feet and gave the man who killed Adam Johnson on live TV a standing ovation, in what’s been blasted online as one of the most disgusting virtue signals of all time.
What’s more, is that British hockey fans have begun hashtag and photo-op campaigns, to show their support for Petgrave and issue demands that he be let off the hook in connection to the killing of Adam Johnson.
Watch Video Footage of the Standing Ovation Below:
Matt Petgrave is given a standing ovation as he appears on ice after slashing Adam Johnson’s throat with his skate.
He murdered someone, on live TV, everyone saw it, and not only did he not get arrested because he's black, he got a standing ovation for it. pic.twitter.com/riMhzFwQNu
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