The Dedham High School varsity football game against Dover-Sherborn was abruptly called off Friday night after officials received an anonymous threat of a shooting, as confirmed by a joint statement from Superintendent Nan Murphy of Dedham Public Schools and Dedham Police Chief Mike D'Entrement. An anonymous caller, contacting the school with a blocked number, raised the alarm of a possible violent act targeting the evening's game, NBC Boston reports.
The community, set to come together for a Friday night game to kick off the school year's sports activities, faced an unexpected and unsettling turn of events. Initially, police had planned to secure the event with an increased presence but later decided to cancel it as the situation's seriousness became apparent. Fans, including the Barnes family who had traveled a long distance, arrived unaware of the cancellation. The Barnes family expressed their disappointment to CBS News Boston, lamenting the missed opportunity to support their relative in his senior year.
Despite the unsettling undercurrent of the day's events, the local community demonstrated resilience, with former Dedham High School football team captain Will Fitzgerald and Republican congressional candidate Rob Burke expressing a shared understanding of the priority for safety over sentiment, recognizing the integral need for discretion in the face of potential peril, with Fitzgerald stating, "You can't take something like that lightly," in an interview with CBS News Boston.
As the investigation continues, school officials have yet to decide when the games will resume on the now quiet high school football field.
