WELLINGTON, Fla. — A high school football stadium was evacuated after gunshots rang out during a practice football game in South Florida on Friday night in what authorities say stemmed from an altercation between students. Two people were injured in the shooting at Palm Beach Central High School, authorities said. The victims, both adult males, remained hospitalized Saturday morning, Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Alvaro A. Feola said in a statement. One victim is in critical condition. There was no information was given about the second victim. Palm Beach County Sheriff's spokesperson Teri Barbera said a group of students got into a fight during the game between Palm Beach Central and William T. Dwyer high schools. One of the victims was found on school property and the second victim was taken to the hospital by a friend. Authorities did not release any information about a possible suspect. "The cheerleaders and the football players started running so everybody in the stands started running," witness Isaac Harmon told CBS West Palm affiliate WPEC. Video of fans evacuating the stands after gunshots were fired at Palm Beach Central High School: pic.twitter.com/HeV5GOyO3C — Paxton Boyd (@paxton) August 18, 2018 A helicopter landed on the field, and a man was being treated on the track, the Palm Beach Post reported. Lynn Monnette told the publication she was watching her son play when she heard four shots fired during the fourth quarter. She said the shots were coming from the far end of the bleachers underneath where the band sits. She said chaos broke out and shoes and other personal belongings went flying as people fled the area. The worried mom said authorities arrived on scene almost immediately. It was not immediately clear whether the shots were fired in or near the stadium. Authorities said they don't have a motive or suspects but said the violent crimes division would take over the investigation.<doc-sep>A woman said she witnessed first-hand how a shooting unfolded Friday night in Wellington during a football game at Palm Beach Central High. Authorities say the victims were two adult males who were not students. Robin Shecter, who lives in the nearby Olympia neighborhood, said she had dropped off her kids, 12 and 14, and was returning for them at the end of game. She said she phoned them to walk out and "all of a sudden two guys broke out in a fight." She said one of them pulled out a gun "and started shooting.” “I mean, I was in a trance. I couldn't believe it. And one of them, somebody, hit my car. Then I saw what was going on. They said, 'It's a shooter!' I got out of my car, ran all over by the bleachers, looking for the kids." She said she reunited with the teens and ran back to her car, falling once, and "then I drove out of there." Full coverage: Wellington game shooting The gunfire sent players and fans screaming and stampeding in a panic inside the stadium at Palm Beach Central High, located on the 8400 block of Forest Hill Boulevard, at around 9:10 p.m. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and School District said Friday night that the shooting might have occurred outside the stadium. FHP spokesperson Lt. Alvaro A. Feola said in a statement early Saturday that both victims remain hospitalized, and one is critical condition. No information about the condition of the second victim was given. Authorities also said that they did not have anyone in custody. PHOTOS: Two shot at high school football game in Wellington Eduardo Estela was selling Rita’s Italian ices when he said he was jumped by three unknown assailants. While Estela was fleeing the scene, the three hit him the head and knocked him to the ground. The assailants got away with Estela’s money box that had approximately $1600 inside. He was taken to Palms West Hospital and later released. Eduardo Estela, 21, an employee of Rita's Italian Ices at Palm Beach Central High School . (Joseph Forzano / The Palm Beach Post) Joseph Forzano/The Palm Beach Post The scene Saturday morning on the campus was a quiet one, a stark contrast from the chaos of the previous night, with a few glaring exceptions — items including megaphones, footballs, water jugs were strewn across the area surrounding the field as the crowds dropped them or knocked them over as people fled the sounds of gunfire. Items left behind on football field at Palm Beach Central after last night’s shooting. Several footballs, coolers, Gatorade jugs, cheerleader megaphones, etc. pic.twitter.com/A7aT8OP7gx — Tom D'Angelo (@tomdangelo44) August 18, 2018 Chase Strelec, a member of the Palm Beach Central High School Student Government, said he was at the football game to rally his fellow students. He described the scene after the shooting as “Apocalyptic”. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Teri Barbera said Friday night that she didn’t immediately have a motive but said it was not “a random act of violence.” Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig said authorities found one victim on the school property and took him by Trauma Hawk to a hospital. She said the other person was taken by a friend to a hospital. A helicopter was seen landing on the field as a man was treated on the running track. Earlier reports said the violence broke out after a group of people “got into an altercation,” but Barbera said that turned out not to be the case. Running for cover at the sounds of shots fired at Palm Beach Central in Wellington, Florida on August 17, 2018. Allen Eyestone/The Palm Beach Post Palm Beach County Schools police have asked the sheriff’s violent crimes division to take over the investigation. Communications director at The School District of Palm Beach County, Kathy Burstein, said that all district outdoor activities countywide, including sporting events and practices and any field rentals by outside groups, have been cancelled for the rest of the weekend. “Student safety and security is paramount on our campuses. While the investigation into this incident continues, District officials will be working to determine what additional safeguards are needed for Friday night football games,” Burstein said Counseling support will be available from noon to 3 p.m. at Wellington High and Dwyer High for students, parents and staff affected by the shooting, said Amity Schuyler, the school district’s chief of staff. Bustein said those who attend counseling should be prepared to show their student ID or staff ID number before entering the campus. The teams were meeting for the Kickoff Classic, a preseason showcase of two teams considered contenders for the state championship. Huge police presence now at Palm Beach Central. Cops armed with rifles are running and everyone is still scrambling to get out. pic.twitter.com/oVjScbiGsK — Ryan DiPentima (@Ryan_DiPentima) August 18, 2018 The shooting occurred with Central leading 5-3 and with about eight minutes left in the game. At the first report of trouble, the game stopped; players and coaches left the field and fans began moving out of the bleachers in confusion. Law enforcement officers with rifles were seen running. A helicopter is landing at Palm Beach Central pic.twitter.com/7g5g3GKjqA — Ryan DiPentima (@Ryan_DiPentima) August 18, 2018 Unaccompanied students attending the game were escorted to the bus loop by law enforcement, and frantic parents who came to pick up children were directed to the loop as well, schools spokeswoman Kathy Burstein said. She said Dwyer players were taken back to their school. Lynn Monnette had come with her husband and another son to see her son Matt, who plays offense for Central. As the fourth quarter ran down, the normal hum of the crowd was interrupted. "We heard four pops. It was under where the band sits at the south end of the bleachers," Monnette said later as she sat in traffic trying to get out of the parking lot. Behind her, sirens wailed. Within seconds of the pops, she said, "shoes were flying everywhere. Personal belongings. And people were screaming and running." It took only a few more seconds, she said, for a massive police presence to arrive. "We saw lights instantly," she said. "We're all waiting and finally the school security came through and said, 'We're evacuating. The police want us evacuated. We need you to leave now.' That's when we saw the SWAT people.” Trauma Hawk arrives to transport shooting victim at Palm Beach Central in Wellington, Florida on August 17, 2018. Allen Eyestone/The Palm Beach Post She said she was able to connect with her younger son, who had been with friends in another corner of the stands, and with Matt, who'd been herded into the Central locker room with the rest of his team. "He (Matt) said when he heard the shots he started running off the field," she said. Dwyer players, the visitors, had no locker room to go to and were led to a corner of the field. "It was just a normal Friday night game and everybody's playing, everybody's having a good time," said Ivan Najera, a junior kicker for Central. "And then out of nowhere four shots went off by the bus loop area, and kids start running everywhere. Kids from the bleachers were running everywhere and no one knew what to do. It's crazy.” “The game was going on and I was just paying attention and then, you know how fireworks are, I turned around and I thought it was a firework,” Central running back Derrick Cruickshank said.“You hear a few more shots and then things got real and I turned one more time to see everyone in the stands running.” He said players shed their gear and some scrambled over a high gate to get off the field. “We were just playing the game, the game of football that everybody loves, but sadly we didn’t get to see the game end,” he said. “It just came down to the wrong time and wrong place.” Central sophomore Leonardo Moreno, 15, was in the stands Friday night when he saw the football players running off the field for cover.<doc-sep>The victims are a 39-year-old man, who is in stable condition; and a 29-year-old man in critical but stable condition. Both are from the West Palm Beach area. One of the victims is the father of the linebacker for the Dwyer High team, according to WPEC-Channel 12.<doc-sep>
Advertisement Shooting at high school football game was targeted, sheriff says Sheriff Ric Bradshaw stresses this was 'not a school shooting' Share Shares Copy Link Copy Two men were shot Friday night at a preseason high school football game at Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington. Victim # 1 is a 39 year old B/M in stable condition at a local hospital.Victim # 2 is a 29 year old B/M in critical but stable condition at a local hospital The descriptions of the two suspects are as follows: Suspect #1 – B/M, late teens to early twenties, 6’0”, and 170 lbs. He was wearing a baggy white t-shirt and armed with a black handgun Suspect #2 – B/M, armed with a black handgun. No other description available. "When I'm calling my daughter and I can't get a hold of her and I don't know where she is and I hear gunshots in the back, you don't know what that feels like until you're in it," said Latecia Mills.At a news conference Saturday afternoon, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw stressed it was not a school shooting. "This was a specific, targeted shooting," Bradshaw said. "The bad guys were not there to shoot students," he added.Kathy Burstein, the communications director of the school district, said no students were injured or involved in any kind of altercation before gunfire based upon reports from school police, school administrators and others. "Initial reports from district personnel indicated the shots seem to have come from outside the stadium," she said.The unidentified men were transported to local hospitals. One victim was located on the school property and transported via a trauma helicopter, and the second person was transported to a local hospital by a friend, PBSO said.One patient was in critical condition, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, which assisted PBSO and school police in clearing the school of any shooters and traffic control. FHP also escorted school buses back to West Palm Beach. "I immediately get on the phone with my mom and I'm like, 'Mom, there's gunshots. Like everybody's running, calling their moms,'" said student Anniyah Chavers.All outdoor activities throughout the school district -- sporting events and practices -- are canceled for the duration of the weekend. This includes third-party rentals of athletic fields.Unaccompanied students attending the game were escorted to the bus loop by law enforcement, the school district said. Parents needing to pick up their child were told to travel to the bus loop. "This is our reality now. This is life. This is our night. This is her memory. When will it stop? We don't know," Mills said.The PBSO Violent Crimes Division assumed the shooting investigation.Bradshaw said no one should be afraid to go to school on Monday. He stressed again that the shooting was a targeted act of violence between adults.The following Email was sent to parents Saturday of students at Palm Beach Central High School.Good Afternoon Parents,This email is sent on behalf of Darren Edgecomb, Principal at Palm Beach Central High School calling with some important updates from last night’s football game.The Sheriff’s Office and School Police have confirmed that last night’s shooting was a targeted act of violence between adult individuals. Two adult males were transported to local hospitals. At this time, it does not appear the adult males have any known association to Palm Beach Central High School students or staff.The Sheriff’s Office and School Police are expected to hold a media briefing at 4:30 this afternoon and at that time we should learn more about the status of the investigation.Wellington High School is currently staffed with counselors who are able to provide counseling support to students, parents, and faculty impacted by last night’s events. They will remain at that site until 3 p.m. Students and staff should be prepared to provide their student or staff ID number when entering the campus.