An Eagle Athletic Association youth football game at the Al Pearlman Sports Complex in the Roxborough neighborhood of Philadelphia erupted in chaos over the weekend when an altercation in the stands ended in gunfire.
According to Yahoo Sports, police responded to the sports complex on Saturday afternoon. Witnesses told first responders that there was a disagreement between spectators and a referee that began in the stands but moved to the parking lot, and then they reported a gun shot.
Some witnesses believed it was the referee who fired the shot.
No one was hit by the gunfire or injured in the altercation. Witnesses also reported that as soon as the altercation escalated, coaches jumped into action, gathering the youth athletes and locking the entrances and exits.
"They got the children together. They took them into the building. They locked the doors," Daryl Butts, of Roxborough, said. "They made sure that everyone was safe and going to be ok before they proceeded to do anything else."
On Monday, coaches and parents met to discuss the incident and create an emergency action plan for future games, which could include the presence of a safety officer.
Police have not confirmed if the referee was the one who shot the gun, but they did uncover one shell casing on the scene. Now, the parents who believe the referee was the one with the weapon want Eagle Athletic Association to improve referee vetting.
"The referees are just as involved with our children as the coaches are," Butts said. "We need to make sure we are dealing with people who can think correctly and don't have any type of past that's going to interfere with the kids' growth at the field."
According to NBC Philadelphia, the police have not made any arrests in connection with the incident.
