INDIANAPOLIS — A dispute over a youth football game led to a shooting at Cardinal Ritter High School Saturday night.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers responded to the school around 10:18 p.m. after receiving a report that indicated multiple people had been shot there.
Initially, first responders were led to believe children had been shot. After further investigation, however, IMPD determined two adult males were the only subjects injured during the shooting.
Police reported that one victim was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. Per IMPD, the other victim was deemed to be in stable condition after the shooting.
Law enforcement later learned a youth football game had ended moments before shots rang out in the school’s parking lot. Police currently believe an argument pertaining to the game was what instigated the shooting.
“One team lost, they were upset,” IMPD Night Watch Captain Rob Rider said during a media briefing. “An argument broke out between the opposite sidelines — between some parents and some coaches — and it escalated. One subject pulled out a firearm and shot the two adult males.”
As of midnight Sunday, IMPD had not made any arrests in relation to the shooting. Police also indicated that they have not yet identified any persons of interest.
Investigators could not immediately determine the age range of the youths that were participating in Saturday night’s game. Rider said the game was contested between children that are “below teenagers” and “not high schoolers.”
Rider added that the incident “had nothing to do with Ritter High School.” IMPD reported that the parents, students and staff of Ritter High School were not involved in the shooting.
Investigators currently believe no Ritter personnel were at the school at the time of the shooting.
“It’s a very sad and unfortunate ending to a football game,” Rider said. “I mean, people come to watch football games and play for fun. Families and kids should be able to go to a little league football game and not expect to get shot.”
As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the incident had been made available.
