Players and spectators ran for cover Friday night when a gunman opened fire at a New Jersey high school football game, wounding two people.
A man and a juvenile were seriously injured after a gunman shot into a crowd of people who sat in the bleachers at Pleasantville High School, said Pleasantville Police Chief Sean Riggins.
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Players and spectators ran for cover Friday night when a gunman opened fire at a New Jersey high school football game, wounding two people.
Riggins did not identify the man and the juvenile who were shot, but said they are working with their families to make sure they receive the medical attention. Riggins said they are both still alive. Tyner said the male child was flown to a children’s hospital in Philadelphia.
A statement from the Camden City School District said no Camden High School students “were injured or otherwise harmed.”
“I heard the gunshots,” Pleasantville football player Ernest Howard, 17, said in a Twitter clip posted by a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter. “We started all running for this fence and tried to run inside the gym.”
Pleasantville Mayor Jesse L. Tweedle Sr. holds a news conference after a shooting during a football game at Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, N.J., Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Players and spectators ran for cover Friday night when a gunman opened fire at the New Jersey high school football game. (Edward LeaThe Press of Atlantic City via AP)
The shooting happened about 8:30 p.m. during a playoff game between the Camden Panthers and the Pleasantville Greyhounds, Riggins said. Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner told The Associated Press the shooting took place on the Pleasantville side of the bleachers.
Pleasantville police search the stands after a shooting during a football game at Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, N.J., Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Players and spectators ran for cover Friday night when a gunman opened fire at the New Jersey high school football game. (Edward LeaThe Press of Atlantic City via AP)
Riggins did not identify the man and the juvenile who were shot, but said they are working with their families to make sure they receive the medical attention. Riggins said they are both still alive. Tyner said the male child was flown to a children’s hospital in Philadelphia.
Earlier reports from local media had said an unidentified woman was carried out the stands on a stretcher and onto the field by paramedics while they waited for another ambulance to arrive.
“We are receiving information regarding exactly what happened and who is involved however obviously this is an ongoing investigation and at this time we are not prepared to release any information on that,” Riggins said during a short news conference following the shooting.
Police investigate the scene after a gunman shot into a crowd of people during a football game at Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, N.J., Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Players and spectators ran for cover Friday night when a gunman opened fire at the New Jersey high school football game. (Ahmad AustinThe Press of Atlantic City via AP)
A statement from the Camden City School District said no Camden High School students “were injured or otherwise harmed.”
Pleasantville is about seven miles (11 kilometers) southeast of Atlantic City.
Videos posted to Twitter show people hitting the ground, running from the bleachers and jumping over chain-link fences as the gunfire erupted. At lease six gunshots are audible in a video posted by Jersey Sports Zone, which also shows players stop mid-play, look at the stands and then turn and run
Pleasantville Mayor Jesse L. Tweedle Sr., center right, and Pleasantville Police Chief Sean Riggin, center left, hold a news conference after a shooting that occurred during a football game at Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, N.J., Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Players and spectators ran for cover Friday night when a gunman opened fire at the New Jersey high school football game. (Edward LeaThe Press of Atlantic City via AP)
“I heard the gunshots,” Pleasantville football player Ernest Howard, 17, said in a Twitter clip posted by a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter. “We started all running for this fence and tried to run inside the gym.”
This story has been corrected to report the name of the 17-year-old football player quoted is Ernest Howard, not Ernest Holland.
Pleasantville Mayor Jesse L. Tweedle Sr., left and Pleasantville Police Chief Sean Riggin hold a news conference after a shooting that occurred during a football game at Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, N.J., Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Players and spectators ran for cover Friday night when a gunman opened fire at the New Jersey high school football game. (Edward LeaThe Press of Atlantic City via AP)
Pleasantville Mayor Jesse L. Tweedle Sr. holds a news conference after a shooting during a football game at Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, N.J., Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Players and spectators ran for cover Friday night when a gunman opened fire at the New Jersey high school football game. (Edward LeaThe Press of Atlantic City via AP)