An off-duty Oklahoma officer fired a shot that wounded a man at a high school football game
Aug 28, 2023, 12:35 PM
Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III, right, addresses the media in Oklahoma City, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, alongside Del City Assistant Police Chief Austin Slayten, left, and Del City Police Chief Lloyd Berger, center, during a news conference about the shooting incident at the Del City-Choctaw high school football game on Friday night, Aug. 25. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An off-duty Oklahoma police officer fired a shot that critically wounded a man during a shooting at a high school football game that left a teenager dead, authorities said Monday.
The officer did not shoot the teenager, according to Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III, whose agency is investigating the officer’s shooting.
The teen was killed in a shooting that followed an argument between two males during the third quarter of Friday night’s game between Del City High School and Choctaw High School, said Choctaw police Chief Kelly Marshall, whose department is leading the investigation into the death. She did not know what the argument was about or whether the 42-year-old man who was shot by police was involved in the dispute.
The Del City officer “perceived some sort of threat,” said Johnson, adding that could not comment further on what the officer perceived because of the ongoing investigation.
No arrests have been made in the teen’s death, but a person of interest was being sought, Marshall said.
The shooting sent players and officials scrambling off the field and caused panicked spectators to hunker down in the stands. Two people suffered broken bones while fleeing the gunfire, according to Marshall.
The Del City officer was one of two off-duty officers who accompanied the Del City High School team to the game in Choctaw, on the outskirts of Oklahoma City. Both of those officers are on paid leave, said Del City police Chief Loyd Berger.
The man remained in critical condition on Monday, Johnson said.
Marshall said seven Choctaw officers also were at the game. Five were hired by the Choctaw School District as security and two happened to attend.
The 16-year-old who died was not student at either Choctaw or Del City, according to Marshall, who said she did not know why he was at the game.
“We’ve got lots of lead coming in, lots of interviews are being conducted, our investigators are working non-stop,” Marshall said.
