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Questions about security and crowd control are mounting after multiple fights broke out during Friday night’s Rolesville High School at Millbrook High School football game, ultimately forcing officials to suspend the contest.
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Students who attended the sold-out game described a chaotic scene as fights erupted inside the stadium and later spilled into the parking lot.
The disturbances prompted officials to clear the stands so play could continue, but another altercation outside the stadium led to the game being called for the night.
“It started getting hectic. A lot of people screaming and running,” one student who recorded video of a fight told ABC11. “A fight broke out, and everyone just ran to it. It was pretty bad.”
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office said it had five deputies assigned to the game and noted that the Wake County Public School System determines security plans.
Attendance for the sold-out matchup was estimated at 6,000 fans.Theron Bowman, a former police chief and crowd-management consultant who has advised on events as large as the World Series, said the staffing level raises concerns.
“If there were 6,000 people in the crowd, you’re going to need a lot more than five police officers to manage that,” Bowman said.
Students who attended the game said they would like to see a larger law enforcement and security presence at future high-profile games.
“I would feel more safe,” one student said. “I just feel like more security throughout the games.”
Another student described the crowd’s reaction after fans were ordered to leave the stadium.
“Everybody starts to outburst everywhere, and it (was) a stampede like bulls,” the student said.
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Bowman said large events require more than staffing. He said organizers should clearly and often communicate expectations and have detailed response plans in place before problems arise.
“Tell the students and families and other participants that threats, fighting, harassment and other misbehavior will carry consequences,” Bowman said.
He also said schools should rehearse responses to potential incidents.
“Let’s rehearse the plan,” Bowman said. “If there’s fighting that breaks out over here or over there, what are you going to do? Who does what? Where do the students go?”
The Sheriff’s Office said one of its deputies deployed pepper spray during the disturbances and was also exposed. Officials have not announced any arrests or charges.
Bowman suggested schools consider alternative venues or schedules if certain games have a history of crowd-management issues.
“Make sure if there’s a history of problems on a Friday night, change the location of the game,” he said. “Change the time of the game. Have it during the day. Who wants to fight at 9 o’clock on a Saturday morning?”
The game was tied when it was suspended. The commissioner for the N.C. High School Athletic Association, Que Tucker, said she expects the remaining minutes to be completed at a later date, although no makeup date has been announced or communicated with the governing body.
“We were told there was plenty of security,” said Tucker. “We support our member schools. We will be right there in arms with them. Whatever decision they made, we trust they did that based on what security saw and administrators agreed.”
WCPSS declined to further comment. Authorities continue to investigate the incidents.
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ABC11 is The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.