Gunfire at Football Game Wounds 2; Fans Stampede

A double shooting at a football game has prompted officials at Monrovia High School to consider searching spectators for weapons or banning further nighttime play.

Monrovia police said Saturday they would recommend those steps in an effort to avoid the type of gang violence that erupted during a game between Monrovia and Pasadena high schools Friday night. Police and school officials are planning to meet this week to discuss what measures to take.

Two people were shot during the third quarter of the game, when a fight broke out between rival gangs. At least six others were injured in the stampede that followed, police said.

Two innocent bystanders were injured in the cross fire at a concession stand behind the bleachers, according to police. Miriam Foreman, 14, suffered a gunshot wound to the hip and a 25-year-old man who asked that his name not be released was shot in the leg.

When the gunfire began, police told the players to lie down on the field; as the spectators fled the stadium, the players crawled off the field on their hands and knees.

Officers arrested Douglas Hooper, 19, outside the stadium and booked him on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Sgt. Terry Dochnahl said police recovered a loaded .22-caliber revolver that Hooper had thrown into the bushes. Police are still searching for more than a dozen other young gang member who were involved in the fight.

Dochnahl was one of six officers assigned to the game, which attracted about 1,200 spectators. He said that police spotted the rival gang members in their distinctive red-and-blue outfits and warned them about violence before the game. But six minutes into the third quarter, with the Pasadena Bulldogs leading the Monrovia Wildcats 13 to 6, a melee started.

“The first shots sounded like firecrackers,” Dochnahl said. “But our officers could see the muzzle flashes from the gunshots. And suddenly, people were knocking each other down.”

The 25-year-old gunshot victim was talking to an officer at the time of the shooting, according to Dochnahl. Foreman, the other victim, was nearby.

Police, who do not know if any of the gang members were injured, have circulated descriptions and composite drawings of the suspects. Dochnahl said that some of the gang members who are being sought by police may be registered as students at Monrovia and Pasadena high schools, but he added that “these kids are not the type who attend classes.”

League officials have yet to decide whether the game will be replayed.