For the second time in 14 months, a West Philly youth football team was upended by a shooting nearby
A 14-year-old boy, who police said was not an intended target, was shot in the leg. Other children were trampled and scuffed up as they fled to safety.
It had been a fun and joyous day of youth football matches at Black Hawk football field on 11th and Cecil B. Moore on Sunday. Then gunfire erupted around 7:45 p.m., according to police, striking one teenager and sending hundreds of young players and their families scrambling.
Law enforcement said an argument broke out nearby among a group of masked men who began shooting at each other, inciting panicked chaos as parents, children, and coaches ducked and ran from the sound of bullets.
Police said Monday it doesn’t appear the men had anything to do with the football game. No arrests were made and police said the offenders are unknown, but they are continuing to investigate.
A 14-year-old boy, who police said was not an intended target, was shot in the leg and later walked into Temple University Hospital’s emergency room for treatment. He was listed in stable condition Monday, police said. A team coach said some children were trampled and scuffed up as they fled, but it wasn’t clear Monday how serious those injuries were.
Hundreds of young people and their families attended the match against the North Philadelphia Blackhawks, said Nate Reed, vice president of the West Philly Panthers. After the shooting, he said, families remained shaken on Monday.
“Understandably, they’re not doing very well today,” he said. “People are upset, they’re angry, they’re sad. A whole lot of different emotions going on, but it’s definitely nothing new to us.”
For many of the fourth graders on the field Sunday, it was not the first time they experienced gunfire during football.
A little over a year ago, a drive-by shooting broke out as the West Philly Panthers practiced at their home field on 57th and Vine Streets, next to the Shepard Recreation Center. Nearly 100 shots were fired and five people were injured.
» READ MORE: Three people will be charged in the quintuple shooting near Shepard Rec Center in West Philadelphia
While several families never returned to the team, about 20 kids stayed and won the city championship for ages 8 and under. Reed said many of those kids were on the field Sunday when panic ensued after shots rang out.
Children were trampled as they ducked from the sounds of gunfire, trying to crawl to safety, Reed said.
After last year’s shooting, there was an increased police presence at the rec center during Panthers practices, but Reed said it didn’t last long, despite families’ requests for more security.
“You can go to a Phillies or Eagles game and they got hundreds of police officers, but in our communities, where people live at every day and are trying to do something positive with their kids at the recreation centers and fields, we have no protection,” he said.
» READ MORE: Philly teens say safety concerns hinder city rec centers
Reed said he understands that there are police shortages, but that the youth football practices are short, and weekend game days draw multiple teams and large crowds.
Sunday’s shooting occurred around the midway point of the fall football season for the children, said Reed, where competition heats up and the league is bustling with fun rivalries.
He said kids should be looking forward to the championship. Instead, they’re fearing for their safety.