The annual Salt Bowl between Benton High School and Bryant High School held at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 25, was cancelled mid-game when a fight broke out near the stadium around 9 p.m. The fight created sounds like gunshots and caused attendees to flee the scene.
\nSenior Emory Rockwell, a Benton High School alumna, was present when attendees fled the stadium. Rockwell was at the game because her brother, Oakley Rockwell, a sophomore band member at Benton High School, was supposed to perform at half-time.
\n\u201cI was sitting at the 50-yard line… but my family was sitting at the twenty-yard line,\u201d Rockwell said. \u201cThen across the stadium and to our right, the far right side, I saw a commotion, and \u2018Oh, it looks like a fight,\u2019 and then the entire section of Bryant just scattered\u2026 I just saw people on that side run, and then I saw everyone else start running, too\u2026 We thought, \u2018Well, we better start running, too,\u2019 because someone on our side \u2013 we didn\u2019t know what was going on, said there were rumors of a shooter. I just thought, \u2018I need to get to my family.\u2019\u201d
\nRockwell went to the 20-yard line to look for her family, but they had already left the stadium. Rockwell described being in the \u201cbowl of the stadium,\u201d watching attendees run outside. Someone opened a garage door for people to leave the stadium, which is where Rockwell exited. Rockwell asked several people if she could use their phone to call her mother, until she found a friend and connected with her family.
\nSophomore Grant Wood was at the Salt Bowl with his friends. They were sitting at the 50-yard line on the Bryant side and could not see anything happening when the fight broke out. Wood said they could only hear people yelling and screaming, but no gunshots.
\n\u201cWe were right by the tunnel, really close to where it was happening, so our whole section just kind of dove on top of each other,\u201d Wood said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t really have anywhere to run, because we were afraid if we got up, we were just going to get shot \u2026 I was just laying there, thinking \u2018Well this might be it.\u2019\u201d
\nBoth Wood and Rockwell expressed sadness that it was entirely possible that someone could have brought a gun to a high school football game. Rockwell in particular expressed anger.
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s important to note that even though reports say they were wanding people, they weren\u2019t,\u201d Rockwell said. \u201cBasically people could walk in off the street.\u201d
\nRockwell also noted that she saw Bryant cheerleaders wearing Benton helmets. Football players had given their shoulder pads and helmets to the cheerleaders and dancers to help keep them safe.
\nWood referenced the Jacksonville shooting, saying, \u201cThat was a reality for them; that\u2019s a horrible, horrible feeling, and a horrible thing to go through. I can\u2019t imagine it actually being real, you know, the real thing.\u201d
\nFox 16 reported that no shots were ever fired and there was no victim. Fox 16 also reported that the Arkansas State Park Rangers, as well as multiple other forms of security were present at the game. Those responsible for the fight that led to the evacuation of the stadium have not yet been found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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