Gwinnett County

Adult football game ends in shootout at Gwinnett County park

SUGAR HILL, Ga. — An adult football game ended in a shootout in a Gwinnett County park over the weekend.

Nearly 100 people gathered for the game between the Georgia Cardinals and the Columbus Storm developmental football teams that took place at Sugar Hill’s Gary Pirkle Park Saturday night.

Witnesses say the game was still going on around 10 p.m. when a fight broke out between the aspiring pros. Guns were pulled and shots were fired as people nearby dove for cover.

“The gunshots wouldn’t stop,” a witness said.

The witness’ boyfriend was playing and her kids were watching with her on the sidelines. She says she immediately rushed onto the field to get her boyfriend to safety.

“I look and I see my babies on the ground. Finally I dove on the ground because they were still shooting,” she said. “I’ve never been in the middle of gunshots and everything. I felt like I was going to get hit by a bullet. There were so many gunshots.”

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Police say they don’t know how many shots were fired.

“At this time, we have found multiple shell casings indicating multiple guns and multiple shooters,” Cpl. Collin Flynn said.

A 50-year-old Snellville man was shot in the foot, but no one else was hit.

Neighbors who live near the park are calling for action to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

“It’s just right in our backyard. It’s scary,” said Robert Cocco, who often plays with his daughter in the park. “If I can’t keep her safe in my own backyard, where can I keep her safe.”

Gwinnett police say by the time officers arrived, it was chaos and many people in the crowd of a hundred or so were gone.

The City of Sugar Hill posted a statement on its Facebook page that said the teams and other development leagues are banned from the park until a review of rental policies is completed.

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