‘A surreal situation’: 2 injured, getaway car sought after Eden Prairie homecoming shooting
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A shooting outside a packed high school football stadium sent thousands of fans scrambling for safety Friday night.
A chaotic night at Eden Prairie High School
What we know:
Shortly before 9 p.m., a shooting happened outside the stadium as thousands of spectators watched Eden Prairie take on Minnetonka. Two people were hurt and taken to the hospital, and Eden Prairie police confirmed that neither of them is a student.
Police say that the victims are boys aged 18 and 17 from St. Paul. Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries, with the 18-year-old being released from the hospital Saturday, and the other continuing to be hospitalized.
According to authorities, an altercation broke out before the shooting on the west side of Aerie Stadium. Officers broke up the altercation, and removed multiple people from the area. Shortly after that, the shooting happened in the high school parking lot.
A FOX 9 source confirmed the shooting involved Somali gangs. Police said they are searching for at least one getaway car, though Chief Matt Sackett said they do not yet have a confirmed make or model.
"I recognize how frightening an incident like this can be, particularly at an event with so many students...." he said during a news conference Friday night.
READ MORE: Eden Prairie HS cancels Homecoming dance after shooting at football game
Inside the press booth when it happened
Play-by-play announcer Wally Langfellow was in the press booth calling the game when the PA announcer said something that caught his attention.
"He said, 'Please evacuate to the south end of the stadium,' and I thought okay there is a problem," he recalled.
What started as a regular game quickly turned into something else entirely for Langfellow.
"Here I am doing play-by-play of the football game and all of the sudden now I'm describing basically breaking news," he said. "In my 30-plus years of doing high school football, I've never seen anything like this before."
Getting home wasn't easy either
Langfellow also had to wait until Saturday morning to get his SUV back.
"He said, 'You're not going to be able to get it, at least for a couple of hours, you know. They're clearing the crime scene now,'" he recalls an officer telling him.
What's next:
The homecoming game was postponed to Monday, though a time has not been set yet.
What we don't know:
Police have not confirmed the make or model of the getaway car, and they have not announced any arrests.
The Source: FOX 9's Mike Manzoni reported from Eden Prairie. A FOX 9 source and officials at a news conference also contributed information about the shooting.