Somali gangs are being blamed for a shooting outside a homecoming game in a quiet Minneapolis suburb that left two people wounded, according to reports — and resulted in celebrations being canceled.
Shooting broke out shortly before 9 p.m. Friday local time at Eden Prairie High School during a homecoming game against Minnetonka, sending thousands of panicked spectators running for the exits, FOX 9 reported.
“Everybody was just running in one direction,” 11-year-old spectator Addison Stetcher told KARE 11.
“People were climbing the fences and that kind of scared me.”
Spectators and athletes realized something was wrong when the PA announcer suddenly announced that everyone should evacuate the stadium via the south end, play-by-play announcer Wally Langfellow, who was in the press booth, told FOX 9.
“In my 30-plus years of doing high school football, I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he added.
Two Somali nationals aged 17 and 18 who were known to cops were wounded in the shooting in the parking lot at the school’s Aerie Stadium, the Eden Prairie Police Department said in a statement Saturday afternoon.
Police believe the shooting was related to beef between local Somali immigrant gangs, sources told Fox 9.
However, cops said they “do not have sufficiently specific suspect information to release at this time,” in an update Saturday reported by KSTP.
Just before the shooting, a large fight broke out on the west side of the stadium, according to the police.
The 17-year-old victim remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, while the 18-year-old was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, cops said.
Neither of the teens shot was a student at Eden Prairie or Minnetonka High Schools, KARE 11 reported.
“Police believe the shooting was gang-related,” the statement went on.
Authorities kept the school parking lot locked down as they investigated the crime scene, leaving many who drove to the game unable to retrieve their vehicles until Saturday morning.
“[Police] said, ‘You’re not going to be able to get it at least for a couple of hours. They’re clearing the crime scene now,'” Langfellow recalled being told by an officer.
Saturday’s scheduled homecoming dance at Eden Prairie High School was cancelled following the shooting.
“While we believe we would have the planning, resources and support to make tonight’s event safe and enjoyable, holding a dance less than 24 hours after a trauma in our community feels out of place,” school principal Dr. Jaysen Anderson said in a Facebook post.
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