Ben Davis-Carmel game shooting 1 of 27 this fall at US youth sporting events
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Modifications to standard protocols were put in place for Monday night’s freshman football game of Ben Davis vs. Carmel, according to Wayne Township Schools.
The action came after a 16-year-old boy was shot at the varsity game Friday night at Ben Davis Football Stadium.
“We will wrap our arms around them and to help them get through that and extend that even to the point of our friends at Ben Davis,” said D.J. Schoeff, resource officer and sergeant for Carmel High School.
Schoeff tells I-Team 8 he wasn’t at Friday’s game but got feedback from players and coaches on how to keep them more protected over the weekend. However, others want protection taken a step further. Beth Sprunger, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action and mom of two kids in Carmel Clay School District, says it’s time lawmakers step up.
Sprunger says laws need to be put in place to protect kids in places they should be safe.
“This idea that guns anywhere and everywhere are OK, and so people think it’s OK to show up to a youth sporting event with a gun in their pocket,” Sprunger said.
“Kids should be able to go to these events and have fun and enjoy themselves without looking over their shoulders.”
Schoeff says her family fortunately was not at Friday’s game.
“Within a mile of our house, there’s two different youth sporting fields. There’s a big soccer complex. There’s a softball complex, where on the weekends, these are packed with kids and parents,” Sprunger said. “And, you know, some of these private leagues don’t have any rules about having guns on the premise.”
Moms Demand Action says that since the beginning of the fall sports season, there have been 27 shootings at youth sporting events across the country, including the one at Ben Davis.
IMPD says David Tillman, 18, was arrested for the shooting. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office says Tillman is behind bars on a $30,000 surety bond. They say he will likely face criminal charges.
IMPD says it will aid if additional patrols are needed at Monday night’s freshman game.
Wayne Township Schools gave I-Team 8 this statement on Monday: “It is important to remember that Friday’s situation was not between students at the schools who were competing. However, there will be modifications made to our standard protocols this evening.”
Wayne Township Schools says additional counseling was available to students Monday.
Carmel Clay School District says it is not taking questions from the media about the shooting.