READING, Pa. — “She called me, and she was like, ‘Do you think you can pick me up early?’ Real calm,” said Seleda Simmons, founding executive director of the Real Deal 610.
Simmons’ 13-year-old daughter was at the Governor Mifflin-Wilson game Friday night. Then came another call.
“So, when I got in the car, she said, ‘Mom, are you almost here?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah. Mom, they’re shooting.’ I said, ‘What?’” Simmons said.
Police later said reports of someone with a gun were unfounded. But the panic was real.
“Once you got there, there was kids just running. It was so packed,” Simmons said.
Now Reading School District says it’s increasing security for Thursday’s game at Albright College’s Shirk Stadium. Spectators will be screened and bags searched.
“I’m glad that they’re taking that initiative. It’s important because, you know, lives are at risk,” Simmons said.
The announcement comes as police also investigated two Reading students found Tuesday near Governor Mifflin schools with knives and an airsoft gun.
Police say the incidents are not connected.
But for Seleda, the added security is the kind of prevention she’s been asking for.
“I think that’s one of the things that a lot of the community members and nonprofits and agencies were asking for — preventative strategies. We know this happened before. So what can we do to put it in place so we have a lesser chance of it happening again?” Simmons said.