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A bloodied Mark Sanchez desperately pounded on the window of an Indianapolis pub and, rather confusingly, claimed to have been a shooting victim after being stabbed around 12:30am on Saturday, according to one key witness.
'As I was closing, somebody was beating on the window, just a random person,' Loughmiller's Pub & Eatery bartender Scott Bennett told Fox59.com. 'I looked and saw that the person needed help and went outside and the person had blood on him, and he said that he'd been shot.
'Brought him inside and laid him down, and we called 911 and put towels over the injuries that he had.
'There was blood, definitely, it wasn't shooting out or anything like that, but there was definitely blood. Some from the chest and some from the abdomen and crotch region, there was blood on his pants. I was trying to talk to him a little bit, tried to get his name, couldn't really understand what he was saying. I didn't recognize him at all.'
Only later did Bennett learn the man was the former New York Jets quarterback, Sanchez, who would go on to be hospitalized and later arrested on charges of public intoxication, battery resulting in bodily injury and unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle.
Although Sanchez suffered a stab wound that left him in critical condition, police now believe he was the aggressor in a late-night altercation with a 69-year-old truck driver identified in the affidavit as P.T.
Mark Sanchez was bleeding from his chest when he pounded on the pub window Saturday
Loughmiller's Pub & Eatery bartender Scott Bennett told Fox59.com that Sanchez thought he'd been shot following the stabbing early Saturday morning in an Indianapolis ally
Based on hotel security footage and testimony from P.T., Sanchez is accused of drunkenly accosting the driver, who was trying to back his box trick into a hotel's loading dock, leading to a physical confrontation. Ultimately the driver used pepper spray and a knife in self defense, according to the affidavit reviewed by Daily Mail.
The driver suffered a cut to his cheek and a neck injury, as revealed by newly surfaced photos from P.T.'s hospital bed.
P.T. told police Sanchez smelled of alcohol and slurred his speech. Sanchez, meanwhile, told police he could not remember anything about the incident.
Daily Mail has reached out to Sanchez's attorney for comment. He is due in court on Tuesday.
Sanchez, who now works as a Fox Sports announcer, was in Indianapolis to call Sunday's Raiders-Colts game but was ultimately replaced by former Notre Dame and Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn.
Former USC Trojans and NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, right, with his wife Perry and son Daniel attend the game against the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center on January 27, 2024
An investigation is ongoing.
'This incident should never have happened,' Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement issued Sunday.
'What began as a disagreement between a 38-year-old former professional athlete and a 69-year-old man should not have escalated into violence or left anyone seriously injured. As with any case, we will follow the facts and the law wherever they lead.'
Sanchez was the fifth-overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft before an up-and-down career with the Jets that is often remembered for the infamous 'Butt Fumble' – when the California native lost the football after running into the backside of offensive lineman Brandon Moore during a 2012 loss to the rival New England Patriots.
He has been with Fox Sports since leaving ESPN in 2021.
