Brainerd student Adrianna Ellis walks through the metal detector as she enters the Brainerd-East Hamilton basketball game Tuesday night. “Yeah, they put it here after the Howard game,” Ellis said.Gunfire that erupted following high school basketball games the past two weekends has prompted Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith to order additional security in some gymnasiums starting tonight.
Player and fan safety has become a major concern after rivalry games involving Howard School ended in gunfire near the Brainerd and Tyner high school campuses.
Rivalry games between some schools long have been heated affairs, with tempers sometimes giving way to shoving, even fistfights. But violence seems to have reached new levels.
“I’ve never seen it like this, and I’m afraid for people to come to these games,” said Howard girls’ assistant basketball coach Terri Parks. “It’s sad. You’re trying to leave a game and you’re told you have to stay inside because there are people shooting outside.”
Coaches insist that the problem is not spectators or fans in the stands, but others who show up after the games to cause trouble.