Gunfire erupted outside Eden Prairie High School's homecoming football game Friday night, wounding two teenage boys and sending players, students and families scrambling as police swarmed the stadium grounds. The shooting happened as Eden Prairie led rival Minnetonka 21-14 in the second half, abruptly ending the game and triggering a campus-wide lockdown that kept students inside the school building for more than an hour.
According to FOX 9, the Eden Prairie Police Department received initial 911 reports of shots fired outside the stadium at approximately 8:40 p.m. Friday, prompting an immediate evacuation of the crowd. Officers, firefighters and Hennepin County EMS crews converged on the scene, and as reported by the Pioneer Press, the two injured people received medical care while a police investigation got underway.
Per Cedar News, the two victims were male teenagers, ages 18 and 17, who suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds to the foot and calf, respectively. Both were transported to local hospitals for treatment, according to the outlet's reporting. As of Saturday, the circumstances that led to the shooting, including who may have fired the weapon, remained under investigation.
Students Held Inside While Families Regrouped at Round Lake Park
Students inside Eden Prairie High School were kept under an indoor security hold until 9:55 p.m., according to Bring Me The News, while parents were directed to meet their evacuating kids at nearby Round Lake Park. That reunification site became the gathering point for anxious families as the lockdown stretched into the night.
In a statement, Eden Prairie school officials described the incident as a scary time for everyone involved and expressed gratitude for the quick response of staff, law enforcement and attendees, per the Pioneer Press. The school said it would not speculate about who was involved, what led to the incident or other circumstances until law enforcement partners confirm those details, and added that it would provide updates as they become available.
Homecoming Rivalry Game Resumes Saturday Morning
The Eden Prairie-Minnetonka football game, suspended with Eden Prairie ahead 21-14, has been rescheduled. FOX 9 reports the continuation is set for Saturday at 11 a.m., though the Eagles' football team account had earlier indicated the game would resume Monday — a discrepancy in reported timing that has not been reconciled publicly.
Investigators spent Friday night combing the scene for evidence. The same FOX 9 report notes that law enforcement deployed aerial drones and K9 units to search parking lots and surrounding areas on the north side of campus for shell casings, with multi-agency teams working the grounds late into the night.
A Troubling Echo of a 2022 Suburban Shooting
A Troubling Echo of a 2022 Suburban Shooting Friday's shooting recalls a similar incident four years earlier, when MPR News reported that two people were wounded in a shooting outside Richfield High School's homecoming football game in September 2022, a case that led to the cancellation of that school's homecoming activities. In the aftermath of that shooting, a 16-year-old former student was released pending further investigation, while a 15-year-old current student was charged.
Eden Prairie High School hosted Friday's homecoming game. No suspect information has been released, and authorities confirmed that neither victim was a student at Eden Prairie or Minnetonka. Eden Prairie police have not announced any arrests as the investigation continues.
