It is alleged that an 18-year-old asked to play football with a group of juveniles and an altercation occurred before the young man fatally shot two people – police later made an arrest
The alleged 18-year-old perpetrator was turned away from an informal football match(Image: AP)
A teenager and a woman have been fatally shot after an altercation at a football match in the United States.
The alleged 18-year-old perpetrator was turned away from the game in Michigan on Tuesday, May 5. The shootings occurred near Southwest Elementary School.
A 15-year-old boy and a woman who tried to help the victim were shot, in the presence of other children, police said.
“There was at least seven or eight kids that are out here, juveniles, older juveniles that witnessed this, which is just horrific for anybody to witness, let alone juveniles,” said interim police chief in Grand Rapids Joe Trigg.
It is understood that the children were playing football, called soccer in the US, when an 18-year-old asked to be included.
“For whatever reason, he was turned away,” Trigg said.
“Did not like the fact that he was turned away so a verbal altercation started, which led to the suspect pulling out a firearm and shooting that juvenile. The adult female had came to the aid, verbally, of the juvenile victim so then she was targeted.”
Police said that the suspect fled but was caught and arrested.
The Grand Rapids school district closed two schools Wednesday, May 6 for the community to “process what has happened”.
“It’s just hard,” area resident Donny Irving told WOOD-TV while visiting the site.
“Everyone knows a youth and people who go to playgrounds who play, school students, and I think the whole community feels the loss that’s there.”
