BURGETTSTOWN, Pa. — A man’s life is forever changed after an attack at an area concert venue.
“Just frustrated. It didn’t have to happen,” Mike Mollenkopf told Channel 11.
Two weeks after the Jason Aldean concert at Star Lake, Mollenkopf is now speaking with a stutter and still hasn’t been back to work.
“I’ve had to go to speech therapy. And I’m going to be going to a neurosurgeon,” he said.
Mike and his wife, Patricia, spoke to Channel 11 via Zoom from their home in Ohio about how he and his daughter were thrilled to be going to the concert - until it turned violent.
“It was on his second song that he was singing. That’s what I remember when I got hit in the back of the head with a full beer can. I blacked out, and the next thing I remember was being surrounded by the trauma team,” Mollenkopf said.
Since that night, he’s been in and out of hospitals and was diagnosed with a severe concussion. He has since developed a stutter.
“Thursday, my stutter started happening, and it got worse. Then Saturday morning, I woke up with a pounding headache. It was really, really bad,” he said.
It’s the second violent incident Channel 11 has reported on from the concert. Last week, we showed you a disturbing video of a man punching a woman in her face after the concert ended.
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The couple is hoping that by making Mike’s story public, other videos will surface.
“I’m hoping that somebody knows or has some kind of video. There were a lot of cameras there. And I’m hoping something was at least caught on video,” he said.
He also hopes that whoever threw the beer can finds out about the aftermath.
“I want to make that person aware it’s not ok to do this. And it affects everybody around my family. I don’t want [it] to happen again,” he said.
The Hanover Township Police Department and Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh tell Channel 11 they are still investigating both of these incidents, and no one has been charged in either case.
Channel 11 also reached out to LiveNation about their security policies during concerts. A spokesperson sent us this response:
“The safety of our fans, staff, and artists is our top priority. We work in partnership with Hanover Police Department and have a dedicated in-house security team at every event to help ensure a safe environment. Any incidents are immediately addressed in collaboration with police, and individuals who engage in violent behavior are removed and may be banned from future shows.”
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