Update: Seattle hockey Dad charged after shoving 2 teenage referees to the ice

UPDATE 2: Seattle police have announced that they have laid misdemeanor assault charges on a Seattle hockey Dad for an "unprovoked attack" on two teenaged referees.

According to a police report obtained by ABC News, the accused man claims he "acted in defense of his son" after his son with involved with an altercation with an opponent. The man told police that his son, "was punched and kicked for about thirty seconds" by his opponent "and the referees did nothing to stop the assault."

He then jumped onto the ice "to defend his son" and ended up assaulting a 12 year old referee and a 14 year old referee.

Local police were called to investigate the assault, but the man had left the arena. He was picked up by police not far from the arena, however. He claims to have not known that the two referees were children and is apparently cooperating with investigators.

Read below for full context on this story.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yesterday we reported on a story of two teenage referees who were attacked by an angry hockey dad during a U12 game in Kirkland, WA. For the full context read the report further down on this page, but for our update on the story read the paragraph directly below.

UPDATE: Well done, Seattle Kraken! The NHL team has reached out to the two young referees who were assaulted in Kirkland this past weekend and have invited the two teenage boys and their families to watch a Kraken game in Seattle following the NHL's 4 Nation Face-Off break.

Check it out:

That's how it's done!

For full context on this story, read our earlier report below.

In case you missed it, this past weekend a Seattle hockey Dad faced a tsunami of backlash online after video showed him shoving two teenage officials to the ice in a disgraceful act.

The video from a U12 rec league game in Kirkland, WA featuring the Seattle Sno-Kings went gone viral over the weekend for all the wrong reasons. In the video, an enraged parent can be seen slowly walking on the ice towards a pair of young officials before physically assaulting both young men by shoving them down hard to the ice.

The two young officials look completely stunned at what had just transpired, understandably so, with one of the young men looking back and forth between his officiating partner and the enraged parent as if in total disbelief.

Just below you can see a short clip of the incident that was caught on camera:

The Sno-Kings have released a statement denouncing the actions of the enraged parent.

"We at Sno-King, along with our state association and all of its members, stand with our on-ice officials and off-ice volunteers. There is no room for behavior like this and it will not be tolerated," said the team in a statement.

The two young men who were assaulted in this incident are reportedly only 13 and 14 years of age respectively, making the actions of this parent against the young officials all the more reprehensible. It is unclear at this time what consequences he will be facing for his actions.

Today, Seattle Police and Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey (PNAHA) announced that they are investigating the incident and that charges are pending. 

"The video we are sharing is difficult to watch, but it is crucial that we confront the seriousness of what happened," PNAHA said in a statement. "This incident serves as a stark reminder of why maintaining a safe and respectful environment in our sport is so essential. Hockey is a game of passion, but there is absolutely no place in our sport for the kind of egregious and outrageous behavior that occurred during a 12U Rec game here in Washington, where a parent went onto the ice and physically assaulted two young officials—a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old. In my over 40 years in hockey, I have never witnessed anything so completely unacceptable."

According to police report, the suspect expressed willingness to cooperate with the investigation and take responsibility for his actions. He was released from the scene after providing his contact information to the officers.

The Seattle Police Department has recommended that the case be referred to the Seattle Law Department for consideration of two counts of misdemeanor assault. The investigation remains ongoing.