Photo: Jersey Sports Zone/Twitter
Spectators at a New Jersey high school football game on Friday went from enjoying their night out to fearing for their lives as a gunman opened fire in the crowd, leaving at least two people, one of whom is a child, seriously injured.
The terrifying incident unfolded at 8:29 p.m. as Pleasantville High School was hosting Camden High School in a state playoff game, Pleasantville Police Chief Sean Rigginannounced at a press conference on Friday evening.
More than halfway through the third quarter, six shots were fired from the stands on Pleasantville’s side,Jersey Sports Zonereports. At the time, Camden was winning 6-0 with 4 minutes, 58 seconds left, according toThe Press of Atlantic City.
WARNING: Video below may be distressing to some viewers.
Riggin said, “there were numerous administrators and police officers on scene” at the time of the shooting who immediately jumped into action and confirmed that two victims suffered injuries.
Though he could not disclose their identities or extent of their injuries, Riggin revealed that the victims were “one young juvenile and one adult male” — both who were “seriously injured but… alive as of this moment.”
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that their families and them are getting the medical care that they need,” he added.
Jersey Sports Zone reporterMike Frankelspoke to Pleasantville Coach Chris Sacco, who confirmed that none of the football players on his team were shot in the incident.
Camden Athletics also confirmed on Twitter that they were “heading home” and all players and coaches were safe.
During the press conference, Riggin said that authorities are currently “looking into what happened and who was involved,” noting that the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI were on the scene and investigating.
Because it is an ongoing investigation, Riggin could not provide any further information about the incident.
At this time, it does not appear that a suspect has been named.
People fleeing the crowd at the scene.Jersey Sports Zone/Twitter
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Former Pleasantville Athletic Director Derek Carrington, who was at the game, toldThe Press of Atlantic Citythat he witnessed a gunman ran out of the bleachers and across the football field toward the parking lot.
Carrington also noted that he and his brother David assisted a number of people with their escape from the field — a moment he described as surreal.
“We must have helped 15-20 people get over the fence,” he told the local outlet. “One woman came up to me and asked me to ‘please help her son.’ I just can’t believe something like this happened.”
source: people.com
