Dedham High School football game canceled after shooting threat
DEDHAM - Dedham High School's varsity football game against Dover-Sherborn was canceled Friday night after the school received a threat about a shooting.
In a letter to the school community Friday, the superintendent and police chief said the school received an anonymous report from a blocked phone number. The caller reported a rumor that a student was going to "shoot up the football game today."
Initially, the school and police planned to still have the game with extra security precautions. "While we have no reason to believe there is an immediate threat, the district is proceeding with extreme caution," the letter said.
Threat "unsubstantiated"
Late Friday afternoon, the school posted a notice that the game would be canceled. Superintendent Nan Murphy said, "the threat remains unsubstantiated."
The quiet empty football field should have been the picture of community: cheering crowds in the stands and new friends and teammates on the field for some competition to kick off a new school year. But because of the actions of one, everybody loses.
After a long ride in traffic, the Barnes family was looking forward to a sweet surprise and some Friday night football. "We drove about two hours from New Hampshire," said Jerry Barnes, "and then we got here, and no one was here!"
"Because we're so far away we don't get to support him that much," said Janie Barnes. "In his senior year, we're trying to get down as often as we can."
To their surprise, that precious time with family was stolen, after the school received the threat.
"Not knowing the information that they know, I'm sure they made the right decision," Jerry Barnes said. "It's too bad. We live in a world of uncertainty. We need more gun control."
The school is working to reschedule the game for later in the fall.
"I'm sure it was a teenager just being an idiot," said Will Fitzgerald, of Dedham, who would have been at the game. "You can't take something like that lightly. Not a lot you can do with a call like that. You just have to make the safest choice possible and that was to cancel the game."