Two People Shot During High School Football Game In Florida
Two people were confirmed shot during a high school football game between Palm Beach Central and William T. Dwyer high schools, according to News-Journal Online.
There has been no word from the Palm County Sheriff Department on whether the shooter(s) is in custody. There is also little information on how the shooting started, but eyewitnesses claimed a group of students got into an altercation. Sheriff’s spokesperson Teri Barbera said that one victim was taken to a hospital after being found on school property, while the other victim was taken to the hospital by a friend.
“Suspect information and motive of the altercation is unknown at this time,” she said, confirming that the sheriff’s department violent crimes unit had been requested to take over the investigation.
There were scenes of chaos on Friday night as a man was seen being treated on the school’s running track, while a police helicopter hovered overhead. Palm Beach County Schools spokeswoman Kathy Burstein said that students had been escorted to safety immediately by law enforcement after the shots rang out, while Dwyer students were taken to the school building where their parents were contacted.
“Parents, there are plenty of law enforcement on site — students are safe and awaiting pick up,” Burstein said in the aftermath of the mysterious shooting.
Huge police presence now at Palm Beach Central. Cops armed with rifles are running and everyone is still scrambling to get out. pic.twitter.com/oVjScbiGsK
— Ryan DiPentima (@Ryan_DiPentima) August 18, 2018
Reports suggested that as soon as shots were heard coming from the football field, players and coaches stopped the game and began leaving the field in droves. Several parents who didn’t know what had transpired began leaving the field in a rush as well, leading to unrest and confusion.
Lynn Monnette, whose son Matt plays for Palm Beach Central, said the shooting happened at the end of the fourth quarter.
“We heard four pops. It was under where the band sits at the south end of the bleachers,” Monnette said while trying to leave the premises.
She said that within seconds of the shots being fired, “shoes were flying everywhere. Personal belongings. And people were screaming and running.”
Soon, a massive police presence surrounded the football field and took over control, which is when parents began realizing that the situation was under control. Even so, nobody quite knows who was responsible for the shooting. Monette was able to reunite with her son Matt, who had evacuated the field in the aftermath of the shooting, but she worried about other children who had been there.
Ivan Najera, a junior kicker for Central, told The Palm Beach Post that he was terrified when the shots rang out, having been reminded of the several horrific school shootings which have rocked America in the past, including this year’s Parkland shooting which killed 17 Floridians.
