Chaos at high school football game when guard accidentally shoots self, WI officials say

A gunshot sent crowds running from the bleachers during a high school football game, but Wisconsin officials say an accident caused the chaos.

Wisconsin Lutheran High School, in Milwaukee, was facing off against another school on the evening of Friday, Sept. 27, when the game was interrupted by a sudden loud bang.

“At first I was thinking like, ‘I hope this isn’t a mass shooting.’ You look over there and you just see everybody running ,” parent Angelina Wyatt-Jolly told WISN, which shared video of fans surging toward the exits. “We stayed there because we didn’t want to get trampled.”

But there was no attack, school officials said in a news release. An off-duty security guard had accidentally shot himself .

The gunshot caused “ understandable panic ,” the high school’s principal told WTMJ.

The stadium was evacuated, and the game ended “by mutual consent,” officials said in the release.

The guard shot himself in his left thigh, police told WISN, and no one else was hurt.

The guard was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, school officials said, adding “we pray that he recovers swiftly.”

“We pride ourselves on maintaining a safe environment for our students and all who are involved with our football program. Following this incident, we will be reviewing safety protocols,” the school said.

Officials have not said how the guard’s gun discharged.

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