EUCLID, Ohio (WJW) – A Euclid officer was injured after police responded to several fights and calls of shots fired following Friday night’s football game.

“Our Friday night game, which should have been one of the games of the week and something everyone could enjoy, turned into complete chaos,” said Euclid Police Chief Scott Meyer. “One officer sustained a pretty serious hand injury and may need surgery.”

A FOX 8 camera captured video of one of several fights that took place inside the stadium. The video shows an officer picking up a female who was actively fighting and throwing her on the ground. 

Seconds later, the female can be seen jumping up and continuing to fight. She did not report any injuries.

Officers also had to use pepper spray to help disperse the crowds.

“We had to send the entire shift to the football fields and parking lot,” Meyer said. “We also had officers that were working security for the school, we brought in additional officers and we also had to call in mutual aid from Wickliffe, Willowick and Richmond Heights.”

Police also responded to a report of an attempted carjacking in the parking lot. The chief said two shots were fire but no one was injured.  He said an officer was able to recover the gun.

“It was a very crowded area and we are very lucky no one was injured in the shooting,” Meyer said.

School officials said they are making the following changes:

• Students must purchase pre-sale tickets and student ticket sales will be limited.
• Home and Visiting Students must have an ID to enter the game. Only students from the participating schools will be permitted entry.
• Students in elementary or middle school must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and must remain accompanied by a parent or guardian for the game’s duration.
• Physical tickets/cash sales will not be available at the main gate. All tickets must be purchased online.
• Visiting students who purchased pre-sale tickets must enter the Northeast Gate Only.
• Home students who purchased pre-sale tickets must enter the Northwest Gate Only.

The district also released the following statement:

“During Friday night’s game vs. Cleveland Heights High School, we experienced multiple disturbances by people who came to the game with wrong intentions. As the game approached halftime, a fight near the concession stand started between two students.  As a result of student behaviors that were unbecoming the districts’ expectations, the police, unfortunately, needed to disperse the crowd with pepper spray. Our administrative staff, working in tandem with Euclid Police, closed the concession stands, the school-side restroom, and asked patrons to remain in their seats.

“We put these measures in place to encourage those that weren’t there to watch the game to leave and to also manage the flow of the crowd leaving the game to prevent additional disturbances.  These measures were largely successful in mitigating any other physical confrontations for the balance of the event.

After the crowd had mostly dissipated, a gun was discharged in the stadium/high school parking lot. The weapon was recovered and there are no reports of injury. The police are further investigating this incident.  The district appreciated the police officers from Euclid and other communities for their support and professionalism throughout the evening.

“We regret that the disturbances leaked into the surrounding neighborhoods after the game. Over the next few days, a thorough investigation will be completed and we will support the high school administration in properly and fairly imposing consequences for the students who were at the center of this disturbance. We will also release information on future guidelines to attend games and other district-sponsored events. These guidelines may include limiting attendance of EHS students through presale tickets, parent participation for students to attend, and other options that we will review with our leadership team.“