Teen recovers after being struck by gunfire near high school football game
2 teens recovering after being shot at high school football game in Nicetown
FOX 29's Joyce Evans spoke with one of teens wounded by gunfire.
PHILADELPHIA - A teen is recovering after he was caught in the crossfire near a high school football game in the city's Nicetown section Friday night.
READ MORE: 2 teens shot at high school football game in Nicetown
"All I did was walk up to get in line and they started shooting," DaJuan Williams, 14, told FOX 29. "It went through my foot on the side."
Williams is now recuperating at home. He says didn't even know he was shot as cell phone video shows everyone scattering at the football game between Imhotep and Gratz High. He only knew his foot was hurting.
As to where the bullets came from and who fired them is a mystery to Williams, the teen next to him in line and Philadelphia police, who say it appears there was some kind of dispute nearby that had nothing to do with either of the teens wounded.
"I think he's calling me to let me know he arrived safely and he's calling me to say, dad, there was shooting," Dawan Williams, said
Ironically, one hour earlier the dad and son were attending a peace rally to stop violence against women.
The teen's dad runs a local non-profit working to steer kids 12 to 18 in positive directions and the 14-year-old is a teen leader in PA Families and Children Together, which is part of NOMO meaning new options, more opportunity.
Mastery Charter Schools released the following statement:
"The shooting in North Philadelphia on Friday happened outside of the stadium, was not related to the Mastery Charter School Simon Gratz football game and no Mastery students were involved. The sound of the gunfire caused panic and chaos, but thankfully, players and spectators were able to evacuate safely. We are heartbroken that our students, families and everyone attending the game had to go through this experience.
To help students process what happened, we brought in additional social workers and a therapy dog today. Our principal and other school leaders also visited each class to talk to students about what happened.
The School District of Philadelphia manages security at Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium and had several school police officers present. Our school also provided additional security guards, as did the school we were playing that night, Imhotep. We believe these security measures helped keep everyone safe.
To ensure we are doing all we can to continue keeping our players and spectators safe, we are planning to meet with police, city and School District of Philadelphia officials to review our security plan and decide if additional coordination and processes are needed."