5 men charged in shooting at high school football game, 3 injured
PLEASANTVILLE, New Jersey -- Five men have been charged in connection with a shooting at high school football game on Friday night, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's announced.
RELATED: Man, young boy injured in shooting at high school football game
According Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, two children and one adult were injured in the shooting.
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A 10-year-old shooting victim is in critical condition. A 15-year-old boy suffered a graze wound and was treated at the hospital and released.
A 27-year-old male victim is in stable condition will be undergoing surgery.
Thirty-one-year-old Alvin Wyatt of Atlantic City has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Four other men, according the prosecutor's office, were at the game and connected to the shootings.
Michael Mack, 27, Tyrell Dorn, 28, Shahid Dixon, 27, and Vance Golden, 26, have been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and certain persons not to possess a weapon.
Dixon is also charged with eluding arrest.
Sister station WPVI was there as a gunman unleashed a fury of bullets about 8:30 p.m. during the third quarter of a playoff game between the Camden Panthers and the Pleasantville Greyhounds.
Panicked spectators and some of the players knocked down a fence in their haste to escape the confines of the field.
Witnesses say at least half a dozen shots were fired from the bleachers.
"It was mayhem, literally people coming in waves running away" said Jonathan Diego, who played for the Pleasantville team in 1984. Diego helped coach a Pleasantville youth football team involved in a game against an Atlantic City team in which three spectators were shot and wounded in 2005. All three survived.
That same Jokers team was practicing in 2015 when a spectator was shot, but survived.
"Unfortunately, around here it's not as uncommon as it sounds," Diego said.
He described a panicked scene as some children were separated from their parents, and other parents held babies and young children tight to keep them from being run over by fleeing spectators.
Tim Athl Sr. was sitting in the parking lot watching the game.
"I was watching everybody running then I got out to see what was going on," Athl told Action News.
Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner told The Associated Press the shooting took place on the Pleasantville side of the bleachers.
Diego said his friend, a retired paramedic, gave first aid to a young boy who had suffered a gunshot wound to the neck.
"He applied pressure to the little boy's wounds on his neck, trying to slow down the bleeding until the ambulance could come up," Diego said.
The boy was flown by helicopter to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The adult shooting victim was taken to AtlanticCare Regional Medical Center in nearby Atlantic City.
A statement from the Camden City School District said no Camden High School students "were injured or otherwise harmed."
"We're doing everything we can to make sure their families and they are getting the medical care that they need," said Pleasantville Police Chief Sean Riggins.
Officials said after the shooting, the four men fled in a vehicle from the Absecon police into Atlantic City. One of the passengers threw a gun out of the vehicle while entering Atlantic City.
Investigators won't say if the victims are related.
"Everybody was so uplifted about what was going on in the city of Pleasantville and this had to happened," Mayor Jesse Tweedle Sr. said.
Pleasantville is about seven miles west of Atlantic City. Its high school team won its first division title in 43 years this season, and the stands were packed.
In a press conference, Tyner referenced a Thursday shooting at a Southern California high school, where a 16-year-old boy killed two students and wounded three others. The shooter died Friday.
"This is a tragic situation, to say the least, on the heels of what just happened in Santa Clarita, California," Tyner said. "It has hit home here in Pleasantville, New Jersey, and it is very disturbing, to say the least."
The Pleasantville-Camden game was suspended.
"It was a real good game and it's sad it ended like this," Athl said. "I just hope whoever got shot will be able to recover."
Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner issued the following statement Saturday morning:
"I want to thank the Pleasantville Police Department and the scores of off duty emergency personnel that assisted the victims and helped law enforcement promptly identify and locate those responsible for causing mayhem at the Pleasantville High School football 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. 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,"
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
