The grandparents of a man killed after a Dodgers-Giants game in San Francisco said on Friday their grandson was "level-headed" and would not initiate a fight.
Jonathan Denver, a 24-year-old plumber, was fatally stabbed after an argument with a group of Giants fans at a bar a few blocks away from San Francisco's AT&T Park after a game on Wednesday.
Denver, who was wearing Dodgers gear, was with his brother and father celebrating their dad's 49th birthday.
Denver's grandparents, Robert and Anne Marie Preece, who live in Southern California, released a statement, saying their son was a "gentle, kind-hearted soul."
"Jon was always smiling, and that is how is we will forever remember him," the statement read.
The grandparents said they didn't have details about the fight, but said "everything went bad very quickly."
"We do know that our family, our son, and our grandson Jonathan, have calm, level-headed personalities and are not the type to initiate an altercation," the statement read.
The victim's grandparents said they were in pain because "Jon was taken from us at such an early age."
They said they believe the incident underlines a "symptom of a society whose values seem to have deteriorated over time."
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The news came the day that the parents of the man arrested in the stabbing defended their son, claiming the killing was in self-defense.
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