The Carmel-Ben Davis football game played at Ben Davis on Friday night was called off during the fourth quarter after a 16-year-old was shot near a stadium entry gate.
Indianapolis police said officers responded before 9:30 p.m. to assist Wayne Township School police on a report of a person shot. When police arrived, they found the 16-year-old shot in the arm. Medics took him to a hospital in stable condition.
Carmel athletic director Jim Inskeep shared on Twitter shortly after the incident that everyone inside the facility was safe and that there was no immediate threat. He also noted fans are required to go through metal detectors when entering the facility.
Maj. Kerry Buckner with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said off-duty officers nearby apprehended another 16-year-old boy who was running by the school shortly after the incident and who police believe shot the other teen..
It’s unclear what led up to the shooting, Buckner said. Witnesses reported to police that they didn’t hear any disagreements or fighting before five to six shots were fired. Police did not say whether the 16-year-olds were students from either school.
When asked about the nature of the shooting, Buckner shared stern words to reporters at the scene.
“It is (sad). But I guess my question would be, ‘Why did the parents not know the 16-year-old had a gun?” Buckner said. “We’re not here to raise kids. We deal with criminal activity. But keeping guns out of kids’ hands when they apparently can’t control their emotions is a very important part of parenting.”
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Carmel coach John Hebert said he heard the shots over his left shoulder behind the Carmel sideline. He initially hoped it was the sound of fireworks going off — Ben Davis had been shooting off fireworks earlier in the game — but he quickly realized those were shot off from a different area of the stadium.
“As soon as I connected in my mind that that wasn’t the spot where the fireworks were, then I waited for the cues of all the people around to really piece it together,” he added.
Those cues, Hebert said, came as everyone turned around to look for the source of the sound, then a few people began reacting, yelling at those around them to get down. From there, he continued, things became “pretty chaotic” with everyone running and encouraging everybody else to run.
“It just kicks in to get everyone safe,” Hebert said. “The kids did an amazing job helping each other and just dropping everything and going. We had a bunch of extra people in our locker room, students and cheerleaders. There were a lot of people just trying to get somewhere safe.”
Hebert said his players were, and still are, pretty shaken up from the incident — and understandably so.
“We’re going to have to spend some time on this. There’s a lot of shock,” he said. “You’re in the middle of a really tough, hard-fought game. It was a good game, a lot of back-and-forth, so you get tunnel vision. Then to be thrust out of it like that, I think it maybe takes a little time (to recover). But I do see some kids who are shook up, for sure.”
A call to Ben Davis coach Jason Simmons was not immediately returned. Simmons posted early Saturday morning on social media:
“The circumstances that transpired (Friday night) were unfortunate. Players, coaches, managers, trainers, parents and fans look forward to the opportunity to represent good in the communities. (Friday night) that opportunity was taken from two programs, schools and communities that were competing with a great deal of respect, intensity and sportsmanship. I can’t say thank you enough to our administration, first responders and and everyone that had a hand in keeping everyone inside the stadium safe. There are a ton of great young people ready to change the world in both schools and communities. Please let that be the focus as we work towards putting an end to senseless violence.”
Buckner said police were still interviewing parents and possible witnesses at 11 p.m. Officers were able to evacuate the stadium “smoothly,” he said.
Carmel led Ben Davis, 35-21, in the fourth quarter when the game was stopped.
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
Reporter Sarah Nelson contributed to this report.
