PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Temple University community has rallied behind a longtime North Philadelphia elderly neighbor whose car was vandalized by unruly Eagles fans on Super Bowl Sunday.
70-year-old Richard Pierce’s car was parked in front of his home on Arlington street, which he’s lived on since the 1990s. Video circulating on social media shows a guy from a large crowd of Eagles fans violently bashing Pierce’s Ford Taurus with an ice scraper. Police have released their video of the crowd flipping over another car on the same street.
Peirce says he was initially angry and upset about the incident.
“Temple reached out to me, and then when they found out that I was a graduate the whole community reached out to me,” he said. “I’m embarrassed over all the attention because I like to be lowkey quiet.”
Neighbors Matthew Giovannini and Matthew Asobayire, a senior and junior at Temple, respectively, organized a GoFundMe account for Pierce after they found out about the damage to his car. The page raised more than $10,000 in 24 hours.
Giovannini says Sunday’s incident is not a reflection of the whole Temple student body.
“We are just guests, we live here halfway through the year,” he said. “We have to respect the community. I want everybody to know that is not the Temple way.”
The vandalism is still being investigated by Philadelphia police.
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