Organizers say police were supposed to provide security at youth football game where shots were fired
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A community is calling for action and answers when it comes to children's safety.
The call comes after gunshots rang out steps away from a youth football game on Sunday in Homewood.
Organizers said they requested and received confirmation that Pittsburgh police would be around for the game but those officers never showed up.
"They ran from the top of the park down to the bottom. Kids were running into the woods trying to escape. It was just a chaotic scene," Lincoln Youth Sports Vice President Aaron Strader said Monday.
On Sunday afternoon, the bleachers at Chadwick Park were filled with parents cheering on their kids at a youth football game. Then gunshots rang out.
"They came down here and were shooting into the park," Strader said.
Strader has been involved with Lincoln Youth Sports for 10 years and said there have never been any problems at games, but he said the group always hires its own security to ensure everyone's safety.
The crowd Sunday was expected to be larger than usual, so the group reached out to Pittsburgh police for added protection.
"They promised us that they would be here," Strader said.
In an email to the president of Lincoln Youth Sports, Zone 5 Commander Stephen Vinansky said, "Yes, we have officers present for this Sunday's game, and the other games."
Parent Shaylan Taylor Wilkes immediately got on the phone with the commander and was told cops did show up but weren't able to get into the park because it was so busy.
She's not buying that excuse.
"This is why they don't trust the cops. People are taking stuff into their own hands. I can protect my kid more than you because you weren't there," Wilkes said.
Wilkes is planning on getting the answers she said she deserves at a community meeting Monday night with Mayor Ed Gainey.
"The city failed us. They gotta do something. I feel like they should pay for these kids to have therapy because that's what they need," Wilkes said.