Police Assess Safety After Football Game Shooting

Anaheim police say that they will reevaluate security measures at sporting events after a fan was shot over the weekend after a local high school football game.

Unless such incidents become more common, however, not much is likely to change, said Sgt. Joe Vargas, a spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department.

“We want people to feel safe and secure, but we don’t want to create a siege mentality,” he said.

Stephen Bodnar, a 1994 graduate of Mater Dei High School, was shot late Saturday after the CIF championship game between Mater Dei and Long Beach Polytechnic High School at Edison International Field.

Vargas said Bodnar was shot in the arm with a small-caliber weapon during a fracas involving dozens of spectators. Bodnar, 21, first went to a friend’s house, then to UC Irvine Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

“We have nobody under arrest and no suspects,” Vargas said. “He was walking with a dozen of his friends and they got involved with another group of equal or greater size. As soon as the shot was fired, everyone dispersed.”

Vargas said that officers got to the scene too late to intervene.

Saturday’s game, which Mater Dei won, was attended by more than 19,000 spectators, Vargas said.

“We were dealing with alumni, students, family members--we don’t get that kind of crowd at most high school football games. This was a spontaneous act of violence and those are difficult to prevent.”