Millwood Public Schools Changing Event Protocols After Basketball Game Shooting

Millwood Public Schools has announced that they are changing their event protocols after a shooting happened at a basketball game Tuesday night.

Thursday, January 19th 2023, 10:26 pm

By: Feliz Romero

Two days after shots were fired at a high school basketball game, one of the schools is taking extra steps to keep future spectators safe.

On Thursday, Millwood Public Schools announced that out of an abundance of caution they aren’t letting just anyone into games. These policies will be in place for the last three home games of the season.

In a statement, the district said they will now prohibit “any minor not accompanied by an adult from attending any of our final three home games this season.”

“From initial counts from our officers there was at least over 500 people here, maybe a little more, the game had just concluded when this incident occurred,” Major Brad Cowden with the Del City Police Department said.

The Millwood basketball team was on the road at Del City Tuesday when a fight broke out after the game ended with one person shot and hundreds evacuated from the gym.

“As I’m scanning the crowd to see what is going on, if there is still an active shooter, seeing if anyone was hurt and I needed to render aid–knowing then again, in that situation at that point I was a spectator,” Dawayne Doolittle, one of the game announcers, said.

“It was surreal…you know two loud gunshots…the gym usually feels pretty big, that time it felt pretty small,” Eric Ross, who was announcing the game with Doolittle, said.

“Once officers were able to evacuate everybody out of the building, we also located a second crime scene outside. There is one victim that was transported in a private vehicle to OU Medical Center,” Cowden said.

The superintendent of Millwood Public Schools said, “taking this approach will allow us to have better control of our environment and create a safer space for everyone.”

Millwood students can still attend with a student ID. The district said they also have the right to refuse entry to anyone they see as a safety risk.

Police said an 18-year-old has been arrested in connection to the shooting. In a statement, Mid-Del Schools said the people involved are not connected to the district.

The Mid-Del superintendent said they're reviewing safety procedures and will announce updates shortly.