Two injured in shooting at Richfield High School's homecoming football game

Two people were injured in a shooting at Richfield High School's homecoming game Friday evening, according to police.

The football game between Bloomington Kennedy and host Richfield at Spartan Stadium was interrupted by gunfire from just outside the north end. The shooting happened about 8:45 p.m., according to a Richfield Police Department news release.

A 21-year-old and an 18-year-old suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds and were found near the northeast entrance gate of the football field. The teen was transported to a hospital, according to the release. No one was in custody Friday night, and police were working to identify a suspect.

Richfield High School Principal Stacy Theien-Collins announced Saturday morning that all weekend activities, including the homecoming dance and girls and boys soccer games, have been cancelled.

Before the shooting, a staff member from the high school told a police officer that school officials had turned away a "number of individuals" from entering the game and they appeared to be waiting for the game to end, according to the release. The people were gathered a short distance northeast of the football field.

A Star Tribune reporter at the game heard two loud shots early in the fourth quarter, ringing out from just beyond the chain link fence that surrounds the field. Fans and players began sprinting toward the exits and the game was halted.

Police and first responders immediately converged on the stadium, concentrating outside the northeast end of field. An announcement was made requesting everyone in the stadium to exit through the south end-zone gates, where the players from Kennedy had gathered.

Emotions ran high as fans of both teams exited through the same gate and arguments broke out before the groups were separated. Eventually, the Kennedy players were instructed to take shelter in the school building and police started letting drivers exit the area.

A Richfield High School parent, who asked not to be identified out of concern for her safety, was watching the game and said she heard the first gunshot on the visitor side and then chaos broke out with the crowd running out of the stands and players off the field.

Some students were directed to take shelter in classrooms and lock the doors with the lights off, she said. Many parents struggled to find their children in the rush of the crowd, and some students were confused about what to do.

"There was crying, hugging, parents trying to find their kids. "It was chaos," one parent said. "[The students] could not believe this was their homecoming."

In a message to parents earlier in the day, Richfield school officials described how the homecoming game was going to be handled differently than usual because of expected large crowds. There were two entrances — one would only admit home team fans. Richfield students were required to have a student identification card to get access to their side. Students not from the school were not permitted to sit on the Richfield side, according to the message. No one was also allowed into the stadium after halftime, and no one was allowed to re-enter.