Violence at Friday Night Football Jamborees

 A block from Soldan High School, an eight year-old girl was near Harold’s Chop Suey enjoying time with her family when she was shot. She was quickly evacuated under critical condition. Less than four hours later, she was announced deceased. 

She was not the sole victim of the shooting. A woman in her 40’s was shot in the leg, one sixteen-year old was shot in the arm, another sixteen year-old multiple times. All three are in stable condition. 

Students from Miller Career Academy, Carnahan, Vashon, Roosevelt and the home team, Soldan High School, gathered to enjoy a football jamboree on the evening of Friday, August 23, 2019. Just past 7:00, police were called to the scene when fighting broke out between the attendees. Only half an hour later, they were back on the scene, responding to a report that shots had been fired. 

Head Coach Trey Porter tweeted, “I just want my kids to play football,” and called attention to media coverage focused on St. Louis’s new soccer team instead of the violence, “Now we wanna address violence in the city, when a damn soccer team been the smoke screen all summer. We got the team, so I guess now we [are] back to reality. Kids being shot daily.” 

Later in the evening, a spokesperson from the St. Louis County Police told KSDK that another incident occurred at Parkway North High School just after 8pm. Eight local schools gathered at the preseason football jamboree when multiple fights broke out. One shot was allegedly fired in the midst of chaos. No one was injured, but everyone was evacuated immediately.