Police Review Procedures After Man Shot at Game

Anaheim police said they will reevaluate their security measures at sporting events after a fan was shot following a weekend high school football game at Edison International Field.

Unless such incidents become more frequent, however, the security procedures are not likely to change much, said Sgt. Joe Vargas, a spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department. “We want people to feel safe and secure,” he said, “but we don’t want to create a siege mentality.”

Stephen Bodnar, a 1994 graduate of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, was shot late Saturday after the CIF championship game between Mater Dei and Long Beach Polytechnic High School. According to Vargas, Bodnar was shot through one of his biceps by a small-caliber weapon during a fracas involving dozens of spectators near Gate 4 of the stadium. Bodnar, 21, first went to a friend’s house, then to UCI Medical Center in Orange 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 heard of the fight, but arrived too late to intervene. While violence is not uncommon at sporting events, he said, “nobody here can remember anyone being involved in a shooting before.”

As a result, he said, Saturday’s incident is being viewed as something of an anomaly. “We really try to have a significant presence as a deterrent,” he said, “which is complemented by ushers in uniform walking around. For the most part, what we’ve done seems to be working.”

Saturday’s game, which Mater Dei won, was unusual in that there were 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.”