Shootings at Youth Football Games Leave Kids in Crossfire
Andy Berg, October 11, 2023
Panic and chaos ensued at a youth football game Sunday after gunfire erupted at Thornridge HIgh School in Chicago’s south suburbs.
The third quarter of a game between the Dolton Bears and the South Holland Jets when a man opened fire.
“The first thing that came to our mind was to tell the children to get down, you know, get covered,” parent Dedric Scales told CBS.
Witnesses say as many as 10 shots were fired around 2:45 when a man affiliated with the South Holland Jets had an altercation with a parent.
The man, who was seen shooting aimlessly into the air, was quickly apprehended. Even though Dolton Police managed to get everything under control at the scene and no injuries were reported, the damage was already done.
This is the second shooting in two weeks to happen at youth football game in the Chicago area. Last week a man was shot at Mandrake Park during a Chicago Hellcats game.
But this type of gun violence isn’t just happening in Chicago.
According to CBS 4, a 30-year-old St. Louis man was shot multiple times during a youth football practice on Tuesday.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department responded to the shooting at the park. The man was found in the northwest area of the park with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital, put in surgery and listed in critical, stable condition.
Police said two men got into an argument when one shot the other. The suspect, a 43-year-old man, later turned himself in at the North Patrol Division Station. First Alert 4 asked police if possible charges will be referred to prosecutors.
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