Boy, 10, Shot at NJ High School Football Game Dies
Micah Tennant, the 10-year-old boy who was shot last week while attending a high school football playoff game in Pleasantville, New Jersey, has died, authorities said Wednesday.
Tennant was struck in the neck by a bullet on Friday as he sat on bleachers watching a football game between Pleasantville and Camden high schools. He fell into a coma from his injuries while being treated at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
"Words at this time seem so insufficient to portray the anger and outrage that our community feels regarding his loss," Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.
Tennant was one of three people shot at the game. A man, who police believe is the intended target, and teenage boy were also injured.
Pleasantville High School is about 7 miles west of Atlantic City — where Tennant lived. On Friday, the stands were packed to see the top-seeded Greyhounds take on the No. 4-seeded Panthers.
A reporter with The Press of Atlantic City, who was at the game, said the shooting occurred in the third quarter, during a punt with Camden leading 6-0.
Videos obtained by The Associated Press and NBC10 showed people hitting the ground, running from the bleachers and jumping over chain-link fences as gunfire erupted. At least six gunshots were audible in a Jersey Sports Zone video, which also showed players stopping mid-play, looking at the stands and then turning to run.
Panicked spectators and some players knocked down a fence in their haste to escape the field.
One of two other people struck by bullets, 27-year-old Ibn Abdullah, allegedly was the intended target, police have said. Abdullah, who allegedly brought a gun to the game, has also been charged in the shooting. A 15-year-old was grazed by a bullet, but has been released from the hospital.
The suspected shooter, 31-year-old Alvin Wyatt of Atlantic City, has now been charged with murder along with attempted murder and weapons counts, according to Tyner
He was captured in the end zone moments after the shooting by a Pleasantville officer assigned to the game, Tyner said.
Tyner promised to prosecute Wyatt to the fullest extent of the law.
Three other men — Michael Mack, 27, Tyrell Dorn, 28, Shahid Dixon, 27, all of Atlantic City, and Vance Golden, 26, of Pleasantville — are charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, police said. Dixon is also accused of eluding capture.
After the shooting, they were seen driving toward Atlantic City with their headlights off, officials said. They were chased by a police officer and one of the passengers threw a gun off a drawbridge, investigators said. That gun was later recovered.
Authorities have said it did not appear that any of the men charged had any connection to the game.
"Unlike some of the shootings that have occurred on school premises throughout the country, this incident had nothing to do with the students of Pleasantville High School or Camden High School," Tyner said over the weekend. "The venue simply presented an opportunity for criminals to pursue their own form of petty vengeance against one another. As a result, an innocent child was caught and injured in their crossfire. Our community will not be held hostage by a few idiots intent on jeopardizing our safety and the safety of our children."
Dixon told police just before the shooting he spoke to Wyatt on FaceTime about where to find Abdullah.
The two high school teams are scheduled to finish their game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The teams will play the remaining minutes at the Linc with free passes being distributed to the players' parents and family members. The game will be closed to the general public.
Photo Credit: File photo
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
from NBC New York - Top Stories https://ift.tt/37qCB2u
No comments: