Boy Shot at Football Game Is in Coma; Teams to Finish Game
The 10-year-old shot during a high school football playoff Friday night in the Jersey Shore city of Pleasantville remains in a coma, authorities said Monday.
Micah Tennant, who is from Atlantic City, is hospitalized at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He was struck in the neck when gunfire erupted in the stands of a football game between Pleasantville and Camden high schools.
"He’s a young kid. He’s in bad shape and while I don’t want to say much more, he’s worthy of everybody’s respect he’s pulled through this," Pleasantville Police Chief Sean Riggin said. "To be such a tough little kid, to be able to hang in there through a very critical serious injury, he’s an impressive young guy. I really want to see him pull through this but he’s in bad shape."
The two high school teams are scheduled on Wednesday to finish the game, which was in the third quarter when the shooting occurred. They will play the remaining minutes without a crowd.
One of two other people struck by bullets, Ibn Abdullah, allegedly was the intended target, police have said. Abdullah, who also allegedly brought a gun to the game, has also been charged in the shooting. A 15-year-old was shot as well, but has been released from the hospital.
Players and spectators ran for cover Friday night after a gunman opened fire on a crowded New Jersey high school football game.
The suspected shooter, 31-year-old Alvin Wyatt of Atlantic City, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and two 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.
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, Tyner 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," Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon 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."
Pleasantville High School is about 7 miles west of Atlantic City and recently won a division title for the first time in 43 years. 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.
Photo Credit: File photo
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