Detectives Investigating Shooting Near Cherry Hill West's High School Football Game
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) -- For the third time since the start of the season, gunshots have scarred the Friday night revelry of a high school football game. This time in Cherry Hill.
An eyewitness told CBS3 a lone gunman was firing in the direction of the stadium, a scary thing to see and hear, especially in the proximity of so many people.
It was Friday night football and instead of memorable plays, Cherry Hill is abuzz Saturday about terrifying moments.
"The football game was going on in the stadium and I was watching TV and around seven or eight shots were fired very, very close to our house," a neighbor said.
Cherry Hill West was playing Bridgeton High School when a gunman fired the shots on Fulton and Weld Streets, the immediate area of the football complex.
It was 8:45 p.m. and the stadium stands were packed with people.
"I don't think most people knew what was going on inside the stadium, but it is dangerous, and it's too close," the neighbor said.
Eyewitness News spoke with a neighbor who did not want to be identified. He says his home was struck by one of the bullets.
Detectives say in total they found eight shell casings.
"How did that make me feel? It's crazy. I haven't experienced that before here," he said.
The shooting is now the third violent incident to take place near a high school football game in the region this season.
On Sept. 17, shots were fired -- and two teenagers were struck -- nearly a block away from a West Philadelphia high school game.
Twenty-one days before that a shooting at an Academy Park High School football game in Sharon Hill killed 8-year-old Fanta Bility and left three people injured. The Delaware County district attorney announcing that ballistics concluded those shots came from Sharon Hill police officers who say they fired in response to gunfire that happened nearby.
These recent incidents causing schools such as Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School to take immediate action. The Delaware County school's game against Neumann-Goretti on Friday night did not include any parents, students, or community members.
The school says in addition to recent incidents at sporting events, social media posts expressing the concern for potential altercation forced it to make the difficult decision.
"I just think that it needs to be a little more of a police presence the next time we have a night game," said.
In a statement, the superintendent of Cherry Hill Public Schools said, "Upon notification of the incident that evening, our administrators and campus police officers at the stadium immediately closed the gates to the stadium and no one was permitted to enter. The Cherry Hill Police recommended that we continue the game. The game continued and it concluded without incident."
At this time police have no known suspects or victims.
Anyone with information is asked to contact CCPO Detective Tanner Ogilvie at 856-650-6398 or Cherry Hill Police Detective Robert Daniello at 856-432-8834.
Tips can also be submitted at ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org or tips@cherryhillpolice.com.
