New Jersey

Police ID Suspect, Victim of Deadly Stabbing Allegedly Caused by Argument Over Sports Hat

Philadelphia Police identified the man accused of stabbing and killing a Bucks County man during an argument over sports teams in Rittenhouse Square early Sunday.

Police said Steven Simminger, who hails from Media, Pennsylvania, stabbed Colin McGovern, of Churchville, Pennsylvania, after a verbal argument over Simminger's New Jersey Devils baseball cap escalated into a fight.

Police say McGovern, 24, got out of a cab with another man and two other women at 18th Street and Rittenhouse Square around 3 a.m. Sunday. They then walked past Simminger, 40. Police believe McGovern poked fun at the New Jersey Devils cap Simminger was wearing, which led to an argument between the two men. The argument then turned physical and Simminger pulled out a knife and stabbed McGovern in the torso, according to police.

Good Samaritans and the victim's friends rushed to help him, taking off articles of clothing to try to stop the bleeding.

"I took my jacket off, I knelt down beside him, lifted his shirt up and just started putting pressure on what was a stab wound that we saw on his stomach," said Megan Hellander, one of those Samaritans. "And I was just trying to kind of whisper in his ear that the ambulance was coming."

McGovern died a short time later at Hahnemann Hospital.

Simminger, arrested Sunday night, was orginally thought to be a homeless veteran who frequently stays in Rittenhouse Square, police said. It wasn't immediately clear if Simminger had an attorney.

A source told NBC10 Simminger went to the VA Hospital on Woodland Avenue because he was injured during the fight. Police told NBC10 they were able to identify him through surveillance video. They also say they found two knives in his possession during the arrest, one of which they believe is the murder weapon.

Simminger faces murder and related charges. Court records show he was previously arrested for DUI in Philadelphia and was also in court in Delaware County for a landlord dispute.

This stabbing came on the same day that four were hurt during a fight and stabbing at 13th and Arch streets and a man was stabbed in a home along 18th Street in North Philadelphia.

Contact Us