UTICA, NY- A security guard was critically injured on Saturday after being shot in the head while attempting to intervene in a fight during the last quarter of a high school football game in Utica. The incident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. in the parking lot of Thomas R. Proctor High School, according to local law enforcement.
The altercation involved approximately a dozen individuals, and at least two gunshots were fired, as captured in a video of the incident. One of the two security guards who had been trying to disperse the fighting groups was hit by a bullet and fell to the ground. He was immediately transported to a nearby hospital where he is currently in critical condition.
The group involved in the violence had been denied entry to the varsity game against Binghamton High School by another member of the school’s security team just moments before the shooting, Utica Police Chief Mark Williams reported. The stadium is equipped with metal detectors, but the group was turned away before any potential weapons could be detected.
The security officer had suspicions about the group and decided not to allow them into the stadium, Williams explained. The police are currently searching for a single suspect believed to be responsible for the shooting. The motive behind the altercation is still unclear, but authorities are considering the possibility of gang involvement.
This incident in Utica comes on the heels of a similar event last week when a student was killed and a woman was injured during a shooting at a high school football game in Louisiana. An 18-year-old man was arrested in connection with that incident, although the circumstances leading up to the shooting have not been disclosed.
In a separate incident last month, a 16-year-old was also fatally shot during an Oklahoma high school football game. A video of the incident shows the moment the shots were fired, causing players and spectators to flee in panic.