A homecoming game at an Oklahoma high school turned tragic Friday night after a shooting left one teen dead and another injured, while the shooter remains on the loose, authorities said.
Tulsa police officers responded to reports of a shooting at the conclusion of a football game at McLain High School just before 10 p.m. local time.
McLain played against Miami High School. The shooting began as the players began to shake hands after Miami won 19-18, according to local television station KOAM-TV.
Officers responded to find two victims “amongst the crowd of hundreds,” police said in a statement late Friday night.
One of the victims, a 17-year-old male, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim, also a 17-year-old male, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, but his condition has stabilized.
Soon after the shooting, Chief Wendell Franklin tweeted an “advisory alert,” in which he urged residents to stay clear of the area around the school, as officers responded to a “shooting scene with potentially multiple victims.”
About an hour later, the department offered more details about the “homicide/tragedy at McLain homecoming” on Facebook.
“Dozens of Officers converged in the area assisting with crowd control and looking for the suspect,” the TPD wrote.
“Our K-9 Unit and several Officers scoured the nearby neighborhoods as we believe the suspect took off on foot. Unfortunately, the trail went cold,” the post added.
The suspect, who has not been identified, is believed to be another 17-year-old male.
“At this time, we believe the suspect to be armed and dangerous,” police said.
The superintendent of the Miami school district, Nick Highsmith, released a statement Saturday about the “horrific” incident. According to Highsmith, the two teams become opponents because of district pairings established by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.
“After last night’s incident, as long as I am Superintendent of Schools, Miami will not travel to Tulsa McClain again to participate in any school activity,” he wrote.
“I cannot allow our players, students, staff, and family members to return to a place where we have repeatedly been put in danger,” Highsmith added.
Tulsa Public Schools has yet to release a statement on the incident. A request for comment from the Daily News wasn’t immediately answered Saturday afternoon.
“We hope that of the hundreds of people here, some will come forward and help with this investigation,” TPD said.
