Harper Woods Police are investigating after a 17-year-old was shot when a fight broke out at the end of the Harper Woods High School playoff game against Chandler Park Academy Friday night.
Speaking to Local 4 anonymously, the mother of the teen victim described the terrifying moment she got the call from police.
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“It was horrible. I just couldn’t believe it because he’s not into that type of stuff,” the mother said. “He literally goes to school, goes to work, goes to practice. He goes to the games all the time, but he doesn’t get into altercations and all of that. I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing when they called me.”
She says her son was a bystander who was hit by a stray bullet while he was leaving the game with friends. The bullet went through his left hip.
“I guess as he was leaving a fight broke out, and he heard a boom and that’s when he figured out he got shot,” she said.
The teen was treated on scene by the Harper Woods Fire Department before being transported to a local hospital and later released.
Although officers from multiple departments were assisting with security at the game, including Harper Woods Police, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, and Michigan State Police, police say a large fight broke out minutes before the game ended.
In a social media post, Michigan State Police shared that troopers heard a single gunshot coming from the rear parking lot during the 4th quarter.
With such a heavy police presence at the game, the victim’s mother questions how the shooting could have happened and how the shooter could have gotten away.
“With them saying they were kind of prepared for this type of stuff, that’s why I’m assuming all of the law enforcement were already there, it’s just like how did they get away?” she said.
As of Saturday, she said police haven’t identified any suspects. She said police collected shell casings and are reviewing body camera footage and school security footage of the incident.
After what happened to her son, she hopes school districts will start to rethink security at high school games.
“I just hope that they do more, hopefully they find whoever did it and they improve security,” the mother said.
In a press release, the Harper Woods Department of Public Safety said detectives are in the early stages of the investigation and the department hopes to have more information soon.