CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas – An investigation is underway after a juvenile was struck in the leg by a possible stray bullet while at the Buccaneer Stadium during a sub-varsity football game between East Chambers and Anahuac high schools, according to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a call around 7:56 p.m. Thursday about a juvenile girl with a possible gunshot wound to the leg, according to Sheriff Brian Hawthorne
During the investigation, it was discovered the girl had been shot in the leg while at the stadium, but due to the nature of the incident, the student, friends, family and faculty did not realize at first the injury was an actual gunshot wound, deputies said.
Detectives responded to the stadium and investigated the scene. Detectives said they believe that the shooting was a result of a stray round fired from a distance from the south or southeast direction of the stadium. There were no reported gunshots heard at the stadium or in the area around the East Chambers School Campus, deputies said.
The juvenile is expected to make a full recovery from her injury, deputies said.
Teresa Bradley said she was at the game watching her son play but didn’t hear or see a thing.
“I was on my way to work when I got the email from the principal or from the school just saying that it was something ongoing and that a kid was hit by what they thought was a stray bullet,” Bradley said.
Garth Moore has lived in Winnie all his life. He said he hopes the person responsible is caught.
“It alarms me a little bit. It worries me because it’s not just being a parent, it’s about being a citizen of this town. Anyone could have got hurt,” Moore said.
The investigation is ongoing and possible motives are being considered. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Captain Bryan Baker or Lieutenant Nick Gonzalez at the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office at 409-267-2534 or Crime Stoppers at 844-860-8477.
“The Chambers County Sheriff’s Office will investigate this incident as thoroughly as possible. Although it is believed that this incident is the result of careless use of a firearm, we will pursue charges on whoever is responsible for this senseless act” Sheriff Hawthorne said.
East Chambers Independent School District released the following statement:
This is a developing story and the details may change as information is confirmed and verified. In Buccaneer Stadium last night, in a sub-varsity game between East Chambers and Anahuac, a student, without realizing it at the time, was injured in the leg from a .22 caliber bullet. There were no shots heard from inside or nearby the stadium. The Chambers County Sheriff’s office is investigating. If anyone heard or saw anyone shooting into the air within a mile of the stadium or has any other information related to this incident, we ask that you contact the CCSO at 409-267-2500 or the school at 409-296-6100. As a reminder, shooting a gun into the air randomly can be very dangerous to bystanders, and a stray bullet can travel over a mile in the air.
The district Assistant Superintendent added that their first priority is the safety of the children.
“We want to make sure that the kids are safe just like all the other school districts around us,” said Andrea Smith. “This morning we did, for precautionary reasons keep all the students inside for a bit until we heard back from the Sheriff’s department just to make sure that the kids were safe.”