DETROIT (WXYZ) — A 16-year-old boy is recovering after being stabbed four times outside a high school football game Thursday night, prompting the evacuation of the football field and raising concerns about escalating violence at youth sporting events.
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The stabbing occurred at the conclusion of the matchup between Southeastern and King high schools, just outside school property. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital with wounds to his neck, back, and head.
"All we heard were people screaming, and they ran back, and they were like he got stabbed, and I'm like, what. You saw the boy, and he was holding his neck," said Saniyha Griffin, who witnessed the incident.
The chilling scene left many in attendance shaken as the football field was evacuated.
"I was pretty scared because I didn't know if they had any firearms or other weapons with them to try to harm everybody else," Griffin said.
"When we heard about the stabbing and everything, it was kinda horrifying. We were just trying to find out if our kids were safe," said Kathy Brown-Williams.
Detroit Police Commander Lawrence Purifoy said the incident was an intentional confrontation.
"This was at the conclusion of the game, they was just outside of the school's property. They met up to fight intentionally, and here we are," Purifoy said.
George Ward, who coached basketball at Southeastern and currently coaches at King, works with community stakeholders to prevent escalating violence. He expressed concern about the incident's broader implications.
"This is a result of adult neglect, and I hate to say it," Ward said.
Ward and community violence intervention groups are working to prevent potential retaliation.
"What we're going to try to do, there are a number of CVI groups in our city, obviously, we're going to try to get in front of this thing from a retaliation standpoint. We know what's next," Ward said.
Police are reviewing witness statements and video of the altercation to develop a suspect.
"So I would encourage anyone that has any information, those people that are in that video, they know who they are, please come forward to the Fifth Precinct and talk to us because we're going to talk to you," said Detroit Police Captain Scott Pellerito.
Purifoy emphasized the need for community intervention to address youth violence.
"The parents, our teens, our community groups, our mentors, we really need to sit down with our teens and explain to them there are other ways to resolving their differences other than fighting," Purifoy said.
Ward fears the increasing violence at youth sporting events could lead to restrictions on fans at games.
"I think the inevitability of that is right in our face," Ward said.
"You know there's always been fights; this isn't something new, but now the violence has increased. And now we're looking at a situation where we're talking about guns, we're talking about knives, and it's been repetitious," Ward said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Detroit Police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
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