The Marin County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Department is investigating an incident that took place at a Marin Catholic High School football game on Friday night. During the game, a nearby resident shot a laser beam onto the field. The incident is suspected to be related to ongoing tension between neighbors and the school regarding the stadium lighting.
According to KRON4, Marin Catholic High School captured photos of the laser and the individual. It shows a dark figure on the deck of a nearby house shining a green laser toward the facility.
Student-athletes reported the laser to officials, saying they found the light moving on the field and on themselves. No one reported the laser shining in their eyes, and the game was not stopped due to the laser.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the sheriff has not yet identified the person who shone the laser onto the field, but an investigation is ongoing, because under California law, it is a “misdemeanor to aim a laser pointer at someone in a threatening manner with the intent to cause fear or bodily harm.”
“At some point in the second half we have the ball and we are down at our own 20 or 30 yard line and I see this green laser hitting the ground I was like, ‘What the hell is that?’” said Marin Catholic assistant football coach Ted Linquist. “I looked up to the hillside to the other side of Sir Francis Drake and I can see a laser coming out of one of the houses. When our play stopped, it stopped. Then it happened again.”
Marin Catholic High School’s stadium lighting was installed last year, but the fight between neighbors and the school has existed for nearly a decade. Neighbors have concerns over the environmental impact of the lights, citing light pollution, noise generation, and traffic safety.
The residents, part of the Preserve Ross Valley group, previously sued the school to stop the installation of the 80-foot light poles. They claimed the project required an environmental impact report, and when the project was greenlit, the Preserve Ross Valley group argued the lights were an “illegally approved project.”
Despite concerns from neighbors, officials at Marin Catholic High School said the lights have been key to expanding their athletics programs, limiting the hours students are pulled out of class early because now they can play and practice at night, and meeting Title IX compliance by adding additional girls’ sports, like flag football.
