Chicago: Melee erupts at South Side football game

Chicago - A day after a school bus was hit by gunfire in Chicago’s South Side, pandemonium halted a far South Side stadium high school football game after a melee broke out.

Around 8:40 p.m., the game was interrupted when a throng of panicked fans fled the Morgan Park High School bleachers., according to a Chicago Tribune report. At Gately Stadium, in the 800 block of East 103rd Street, Simeon was up 6-0 over Morgan Park High School with 10 minutes, 27 seconds left in the third quarter of the Chicago Public League high school football game. Suddenly, officials noticed the crowd surge during the disturbance and stopped the game, sending players to their respective sidelines. “It was a large disturbance,’’ said police news affairs officer Veejay Zala. “We don’t know the nature of it yet.” Reports of injuries are sketchy; however one person with a stab wound was transported to Roseland Community Hospital, according to Fire Department Chief Joe Roccasalva. While police couldn’t confirm shots were fired, someone in the press box ordered the lights to be put out during the melee, and a person could be heard yelling: “Get down, get down — shots, get down, shots.” “I really didn’t know what the heck it was,” Simeon coach Dante Culbreath said. “I still don’t know what it was. I didn’t hear anything and I didn’t see anything. All I know is that people started running.” However others claim shots were fired. Charles Stone was working as the game’s public address announcer and was facing the Morgan Park stands from the press box during the game. “I saw like three flashes, the shots in the distance,” Stone said. Reportedly, the game was rescheduled for 3 p.m., Sunday, at Gately Stadium.