Authorities are investigating two incidents that took place near high school football games in California, including one reported shooting in South Los Angeles and another fatal one in Bakersfield, on Friday night.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, a call regarding shots being fired came in to dispatch around 8:52 p.m. Friday in the 1400 block of Imperial Highway.
Specifically, the caller mentioned hearing the shots at a football field; located within the 1400 block of Imperial Highway in West Athens is the campus of Los Angeles Southwest College.
However, when deputies from the sheriff’s department arrived on scene, they were unable to locate any evidence of a shooting, including victims. That said, video from the scene shows at least one person being loaded into an ambulance, although the reason was not known.
The video taken by Sky5 shows that authorities did evacuate spectators from Cougar Stadium while a suspect search was underway. The venue does not have a permanent single high school team that plays there; rather, a variety of local teams play there.
According to the Daily Breeze, Friday night’s game at L.A. Southwest College was being contested by San Pedro High School and King/Drew Magnet High School.
The San Pedro Pirates had taken a 20-6 lead “seconds before the sound of what people thought was a gunshot near the athletic field house,” the outlet reported, adding that the chaos led to a stampede of spectators rushing onto the field.
The game was cancelled; the Daily Breeze, speaking to King/Drew head coach Joe Torres, indicated that the teams could meet again at a later date to finish the time on the clock.
Police investigate a reported shooting near a high school football game at L.A. Southwest College on Aug. 21, 2026. (KNN)
Police investigate a reported shooting near a high school football game at L.A. Southwest College on Aug. 21, 2026. (KNN)
Reports coming in from Bakersfield indicate that shots were fired near a high school football game on Friday night around 8 p.m.
“The call came out just after 8 p.m. for reports of shots fired at the Independence High School football game,” a Bakersfield Police Department official confirmed to KTLA. “When officers arrived on scene they found a 17-year-old male who was the victim of a shooting. He was transported to Kern Medical where he was pronounced deceased.”
Independence High was playing Centennial High School at the time the gunfire erupted; the game was canceled shortly afterwards. According to KTLA sister station KGET, roughly seven to eight shots were fired that sent attendees, including a KGET photographer, into a panic.
KGET also reported that Bakersfield authorities indicated a fight between a group of people broke out, which led to the shooting.
Authorities investigate a fatal shooting at a high school football game in Bakersfield. Aug. 21, 2026. (KNN)
The teenager who was shot and killed was not immediately identified by name. No information on a suspect was disclosed by officials.
No further information surrounding either incident was released right away, although authorities in L.A. County confirmed that they were not connected and that there is no further danger to the public.
Orion Powell contributed to this report.
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