Police Are Hunting Down Gritty After He Allegedly Punched A Child

Savor this image: a trove of Philadelphia cops, scouring the city in search of the monstrous Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers' mascot, on the run and terrorizing citizens in an orange-hued spree of violence.

While that's not literally happening, Philadelphia police are investigating a claim that Gritty punched a child. Philadelphia resident Chris Greenwell has alleged that Gritty (or more realistically, the person playing Gritty) punched his son Brandon in the back at a photo-op in November. According to Greenwell, after Brandon playfully patted the mascot's head, Gritty took a running start and socked Brandon "as hard as he could."

There is no video of the alleged incident and Comcast Spectator, the company which owns the Flyers, said that a thorough investigation into Greenwell's claims "found nothing to support" it.

After a month of trying to settle the incident with Comcast Spectator, Greenwell went to the police. Now cops are investigating if Gritty assaulted a child. According to a spokesperson for Philadelphia's South Detectives Division, the investigation is "active and ongoing."

While there's no denying the seriousness of the allegations, Comcast Spectator's unwillingness to reveal the person playing Gritty on the day in question has humorously cast giant orange fluffball Gritty as an autonomous individual in the middle of litigation.

“At no time did I state that one of my colleagues hit your son," said Comcast Spectator vice president of risk management Laurie Kleinman in a December 23rd email to Greenwell. “Gritty, however, recalls being hit on the head repeatedly by someone during one of the earlier photoshoots.”

Gritty, described by the Flyers as having "bully" tendencies upon his reveal, has not commented on the story.