Eden Prairie High School has cancelled its Homecoming dance after two people were injured in a shooting during Friday night’s football game in Minnesota.
The dance was due to take place on Saturday 3 October, less than 24 hours after gunfire was reported outside the stadium as Eden Prairie played Minnetonka.
Eden Prairie Homecoming dance cancelled
Principal Jaysen Anderson told students, staff and families that the event would not go ahead, saying the school needed to focus on supporting those affected by the shooting.
He said organisers believed they had the resources to hold a safe event, but that staging a dance so soon after the incident “feels out of place”. School was expected to resume as planned on Monday.
The shooting happened at about 8.40pm on Friday on the north side of Eden Prairie High School, according to local police. The game and surrounding activities were evacuated as officers secured the area and worked with emergency crews on a reunification plan.
Eden Prairie Police Chief Matt Sackett said officers already at the event had initially responded to reports of a disturbance before receiving reports that shots had been fired.
Two people were taken to hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening. Police said neither victim was a student at Eden Prairie High School or Minnetonka High School.
Investigators believe the shooting was targeted, and no arrests had been announced by Saturday. The area around the school and stadium remained closed to the public while the investigation continued.
Parents were directed to meet students who had been at the game at Round Lake Park, which was used as a reunification point during the evacuation. Eden Prairie police, firefighters and Hennepin County emergency medical personnel attended the scene.
School officials thanked first responders, staff, students and families for their response as the stadium was cleared. The investigation remains ongoing.
