LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The opening weekend of the 2023 high school football season did not get off to a rousing start after several incidents occurred either during or shortly after a handful of games.
In Clayton County, an 18-year-old was shot in the parking lot of Tara Stadium after the football game was over. That teenager is not seriously injured, but the incident raised many concerns.
At Discovery High School in Lawrenceville, the crowd, for no apparent reason, went scrambling from the stands at the end of halftime during the school’s game against Central Gwinnett High.
High school senior Kaleb Ford said he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I was in the stands. Then both sides of the stadium kind of started running down. I’m like, I should probably get out of the stands and go on the field so I don’t get trampled. A lot of people got trampled,” Ford said.
Ford got video of the crowd racing out of the stands toward the end of the game.
In a statement sent to parents, Discovery Principal Marci Sledge described it as a massive group of students that caused panic by rushing toward the exits.
The principal says it created a stampede of people trying to get through the gates or over stadium fences.
Despite the rumors on social media, Sledge said there was no gunfire at the school, but there were several fights in the parking lot.
Police are investigating whether any students intentionally caused it all by rushing out in large groups. Administrators say while rumors were spreading online about gunfire on the campus, that never happened.
Ford told Petersen that he identified the safest spot and went there.
“I went on the field and try to get away from all the chaos and havoc. It’s where I felt safest. I got on the field and started recording and everyone was just sprinting and running. There were no actual gunshots that got shot off. After all the havoc, up there toward the front of the school, there were fights breaking out and crowds forming. It was pretty crazy at the end too,” Ford said.
Discovery’s principal says they’re looking at ways to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
At another football game, this time in Jonesboro, a senior at Dutchtown High School was reportedly shot while in the parking lot at Hines Ward Field.
Clayton County Public Schools confirmed the shooting, saying the senior was shot while attending the Jonesboro High School football game against Mt. Zion High School. School officials said the student’s injuries were not serious and the incident was related to an attempted robbery.
They released a statement emphasizing the precautionary measures they will now take before, during, and after games.
“The School District will also continue using weapon-detection devices and only allow clear bags/purses at its games. These measures are developed to keep staff and students safe inside of the game,” the district said in a statement, adding that they “will continue to restructure to provide greater vigilance and safety precautions as it continues to confront the increase in violence among our youth in our nation. Moving forward, all games with fairly large crowds will now have adjusted start times. The district will provide additional updates as changes are made.