The 3rd Quarter Started. Then, 'Absolute Madness'

Man and young boy injured after gunfire erupts at New Jersey high school football game
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 16, 2019 7:30 AM CST
The 3rd Quarter Started. Then, 'Absolute Madness'
Police investigate the scene after a gunman shot into a crowd of people during a football game at Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, NJ, on Friday.   (Ahmad Austin/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

Just a day after five high school students were shot by a classmate in Santa Clarita, Calif., two fatally, gunfire rang out at a high school football game on the opposite coast, injuring two. The Cherry Hill Courier-Post reports Friday evening's playoff game between Camden and Pleasantville on the latter's home field was in the third quarter when the shooting started around 8:30pm. Jersey Sports Zone has video that begins right before six shots are heard coming from the bleachers, followed by chaos as players and spectators scream and start scrambling. "Everyone ran for cover; the place went crazy," says April Saul, who's taken pictures for the Courier-Post. JSZ journalist Mike Frankel was also at the game and tweeted, "Gunshots just fired at Camden-Pleasantville game. A young boy was shot in the stands. Absolute madness."

"We just heard the gunshots, and we just all started running," a 17-year-old Pleasantville player tells the Philadelphia Inquirer, adding that he and his teammates sprinted off the field and through a hole in a fence to make their way to the school gym. Camden players and staff were able to get back to their bus and safely leave the premises. Pleasantville Police Chief Sean Riggin tells the Courier-Post that "one young juvenile and one adult male" were "seriously injured"; the Inquirer reports the injured boy is said to be around 10 years old. Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner says the two victims aren't related and that an investigation is underway. WPVI reports a firearm has been recovered. (More shooting stories.)

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