NORTH COLLEGE HILL, Ohio — No one inside or outside of the North College Hill stadium was shot or grazed by gunfire Friday night during North College Hill’s home football game against visiting Woodward, according to a joint statement from the North College Hill Police Department and North College Hill City School District.
“The police department has confirmed and concluded that the gunshots were not in the direction of the stadium and the location of the gunshots were several hundred yards away,” the joint statement said. “This unfortunate event was an isolated event that had nothing to do with North College Hill City Schools and/or Woodward.”
This comes after a Cincinnati Public Schools spokesperson originally said Friday that a Woodward student-athlete was injured in the shooting. That student was actually injured in the aftermath of the shots fired incident, CPS said Saturday.
"Cincinnati Public Schools learned today that a police investigation concluded a Woodward Career Technical High School student was not grazed by a bullet during the football game at North College Hill despite initial reports, but rather injured in the aftermath of the shots fired incident during the game," the district said in a statement. "The District's support remains with the student injured and all the student-athletes and spectators."
As North College Hill was leading Woodward 19-6 with a few minutes left in the first half, shots fired near the stadium around 8:15 p.m. halted the game.
“The game was immediately stopped as North College Hill Administration and North College Hill Police Department officers began our Emergency Action Plan duties,” the joint statement said. “There were seven North College Hill Administrators on site and four North College Hill Police Officers on site at the time of the incident. There were also police cruisers stationed around the football stadium for the entirety of the game.”
The joint statement said the North College Hill City Schools athletic department took proper precaution and procedures to ensure the safety of everyone attending athletic games.
Policies have included, but aren’t limited to metal detectors and wanding upon entry, an administrator at every entry way into the stadium, the requirement that students in grades K-8 must enter the game with their parent, no bags are allowed in (if a bag is needed, it is thoroughly checked), there is no re-entry into games (once you leave, you can not re-enter the game) and police/administration escorts for the visiting team.
North College Hill's athletic department said it will work with all future opponents of the fall sports season to determine the best day, time and location to play athletic games.
“If necessary, North College Hill will travel to any and all future opponents in order to give our student-athletes an opportunity to play,” the joint statement said.
CPS also said that its Crisis Response Team will be on-site to provide support to students as they return to school Tuesday.
This is the second time this month a North College Hill football game has ended abruptly due to a shooting incident in the area.
"Again, we have outside forces that have nothing to do with North College Hill City School District ... creating a horrible situation, so I am saddened," North College Hill Superintendent Eugene Blalock said following Friday's shooting.
This was North College Hill's first game since shots fired in the area ended their game against Cincinnati Country Day on Sept. 6. At the time, police said someone fired 10 shots near an apartment complex across the street from the stadium on Bising Avenue. Play was stopped and the stadium was evacuated as police arrived on scene. No one was injured in that incident.
The following week, North College Hill's next opponent Miami Valley Christian Academy canceled, stating they would not travel to the area for the game. The school also announced its homecoming game against Summit Country Day School has been rescheduled for a different date and time, moving from a Friday night to Saturday morning.
Blalock said Friday's crowd was "huge," with the community coming together to support their student-athletes and "show them that they're worthy, that we believe in them."
"And to have this happen again, second football game ... in a row in the community, we have to do a better job," Blalock said.
He said he believes this is "bigger than athletics."
"Our students were playing their hearts out, they were winning the game, but now who's gonna think about football?" Blalock said. "So now you have kids who are traumatized, and this is ongoing trauma. If I were a parent, to be perfectly honest, I don't know if I would allow my child to come to another game."
On Friday, Blalock said that game would be the last on the field: "I will not put somebody else's life in jeopardy and I would hate to have another school feel like they're doing something wrong by trying to keep their kids safe."
