Homecoming Game in Illinois Gets Violent and Police are Called

Homecoming is a time for generations of alumni to come back to the school they attended to remember and share stories of years gone by. The traditions and happenings of classes and classmates, but Friday night in Oak Lawn turned into a Homecoming memory that will be talked about in the future, but for the wrong reasons.

Friday night lights in Oak Lawn, Illinois included red and blue flashing police beacons following a fight in the visitor stands at Richards High School.

During halftime homecoming fireworks Friday night at the Richards High vs Oak Lawn High game the visitor stands got wild when a teenage girl who was apparently no an Oak Lawn student verbally attacked OLCHS cheerleaders, then physically went after them. The act that sparked a rumble in the bleachers. Police back up was called and in the midst of the chaos and fireworks going off someone yelled “gun!” Authorities say there was no gun –or any weapons used in the incident.

Social media afterward was rampant with students, families and fans offering up accounts of the matter that contained truth infused with many fallacies.

Oak Lawn Schools Superintendent Shahe Bagdasarian sent out a letter Saturday to supply an official account of the events to offset the online versions and subsequent takes, saying there were no weapons and that no one was injured.

Officers removed everyone from the Oak Lawn (visitors) stands (except for the team’s videographer) before the second half began.

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CHSD 218 Superintendent Josh Barron said that they have magnetometers and cameras at the school and security drives through the parking lots looking for suspicious activity and open cars while lamenting too many situations these days that have typical teen drama escalate into trauma and sometimes tragedy.