Series of Gunshots Creates Panic Among Fans at Lake Village; No Injuries Reported
LAKE VILLAGE, Ark. - Lake Village Police Chief Percy Wilburn said the gunfire that sent many fans into a panic after the Rison-Lake Village football game Friday night at Lakeside High School in Lake Village was not related to the game itself, though the incident is still under investigation.
Wilburn told the Herald Monday afternoon his department was unaware of any injuries from the gunfire. He said there were none reported at the scene, nor had his department become aware of any since then. He did report some cars in the parking lot in front of Lakeside Middle School were damaged by the gunfire, but he did not know how many.
While the investigation had developed some possible suspects, Wilburn said no arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon. He said he could not reveal much more about the case since the investigation was still underway.
The Lake Village Police Department posted on its Facebook page Saturday, Oct. 24, that the department received a call at approximately 9:46 p.m. Friday about gunshots being fired at the school. The department stated that additional officers from the Lake Village Police and the Chicot County Sheriff’s Department were called to the scene.
The incident occurred within about five minutes of the conclusion of the Lake Village Beavers’ homecoming football game against the Rison Wildcats. The Beavers scored a touchdown with about 21 seconds left to come away with a 44-39 win.
The gunfire took place as both teams were leaving their routine post-game meetings on the field. Rison players were making their way to the locker room on the east side of the stadium, while several Lake Village players were lingering on the west side of the field when the gunfire erupted.
Rison Coach Chris Vereen said he first interpreted the popping sounds as a string of firecrackers going off since Lake Village had some fireworks behind the west end zone at the end of the game.
However, Vereen said he recognized a second series of shots as being from a semi-automatic…