High school horror as teen shot and killed during football game season opener, sending players, students and parents running for their lives

A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed at a season-opening high school football game in Bakersfield, California, sparking chaos as players, students and parents fled the stadium in fear. Police believe the shooting followed an altercation between a group of individuals near the field, and say it was an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to the public, though the case has left the local community shaken ahead of what should have been a celebratory start to the football season.

The victim was shot near the south side of the field around 8pm shortly after kick-off, with up to eight shots reportedly fired; he was taken to hospital but later pronounced dead. Video footage showed panicked spectators, including a woman clutching her chest, running from the stands and out of the stadium, while players took cover behind bushes. No suspects have been named and no arrests made, though a prayer service is planned at the school. In a separate incident the same night, two young adults were shot and injured at a football game in Jacksonville, Florida, in what police say was an unrelated dispute among attendees with no school affiliation.