A shooting was feared at the Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota on October 2. This came amid the high school football game between Eden Prairie and Minnetonka, with the game being postponed in the fourth quarter, as per reports. The high school is at 17185 Valley View Road.
Eden Prairie issued a statement on the evacuation, saying “We’re evacuating homecoming. All visitors being directed Round Lake Park for reunification. We’ll provide an update within 10 minutes.” In further updates, the high school shared “Eden Prairie Police Department has secured the area. Evacuation continues for all attendees. Expect slow traffic in the area and follow all directions from law enforcement,” and added “There has been an emergency requiring a police response. Again, all students, families and staff are evacuating homecoming. People should either head to the baseball diamonds to exit, or for those who need to be picked up head to Round Lake Park.”
The school also added “Evacuation of the area around the high school continues. Eden Prairie Schools, Eden Prairie Police Department, Eden Prairie Fire Department and Hennepin County EMS are working closely to keep the area secure and support reunification efforts.” They also noted “Those inside Eden Prairie High School are currently on a HOLD, which means movement throughout the building is limited. Students inside the building have the support of staff.”
What happened at Eden Prairie High School?
A local news page noted “Shots or shooting. Eden Prairie Minnetonka game postponed in 4th quarter. Smelled like gun powder and everyone had to evacuate. Police from all surrounding cities are flooding the area.” However, they added there was no official confirmation yet. They shared a video from the scene as well. Notably, the text attached with the video remains a speculation and has not been verified by authorities yet.
A later update from the same page noted that at least two people were shot, and both were males, aged 18 and 17. The post noted that the former was shot in the foot and the latter in the calf. However, this information has not been confirmed by authorities.
Another local news page added more details, writing “Officers from multiple agencies are on scene at the Eden Prairie High School football stadium after a shooting that apparently took place outside the stadium around 8:45 p.m. while a football game was being played inside. According to initial emergency radio dispatches, one male victim was found down and with a gunshot wound to the leg, with another victim also found with a gunshot wound to the leg a short time later. The stadium is being evacuated, nearby roads being shut down and a large police presence remains in the area.”
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“A possible suspect vehicle was described as a blue Honda with heavily tinted windows, occupied by four people. If you have any information, call 911,” they wrote of the suspect, though this information has not been verified.
“Parents can pick up kids at the reunification point at Round Lake Park,” the post also added.
Eden Prairie Police Department is yet to comment on the situation.
Eden Prairie High School shooting reports: Locals express fear
Several people reacted to the news of the shooting at Eden Prairie High School. “Eden prairie homecoming football game being evacuated,” one wrote. Another added “Extremely active situation avoid the area lots of emergency vehicles incoming!”.
One person further said “I happened to be in the area when I noticed the absolutely massive response from as many agencies as you can count. Spoke with someone at an intersection who said there was a gun, but couldn’t confirm reports of shots.”
Some alleged they saw a teen with a gun, but these details could not be verified.
One person wrote on Facebook “Crazy thing just happened Minnetonka and Eden Prairie everybody had to exit the football game so the game wasn’t over yet Prairie football game 50 cop cars are here and someone got shot. It’s crazy.”