Comstock HS holds 1st home game with new safety measures since shooting
COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — After a shooting in the Comstock High School parking lot produced “anxiety and concern,” the district is implementing new safety measures at the school’s first home game since the shooting.
On the evening of Dec. 12, 30 gunshots rang out in the parking lot during boys’ junior varsity and varsity basketball games. Nobody was hurt. According to the sheriff, the shooting stemmed from an argument between two groups of people, which began in the bleachers and escalated to the point that one group was kicked out.
Sheriff: 30 gunshots fired at Comstock HS, no injuries
Ahead of the school’s first home game on Tuesday, Comstock Public Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Thoenes told News 8 the shooting left students on edge.
“There’s been some angst and anxiety, understandably, and concern from parents, staff, students,” he said. “All of this got complicated by the fact that over winter break, we had a student struck and killed in a pedestrian car accident.”
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On Dec. 29, 14-year-old Tristan Billman was hit by a car and killed. Family members say he pushed his girlfriend out of the way, saving her life.
“(On Monday), when we convened our teams again, we had a lot more students come forward with all their concerns built up,” Thoenes said.
Under the new safety protocols, which apply to Tuesday’s game and the rest of the season’s home games, only players’ immediate family members and district staff members are allowed to attend. An administrator will attend all home games, as will safety personnel like deputies from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office.
Comstock Schools adds safety measures to athletic events after shooting
“My understanding from the news accounts and the reporting I’ve seen, is that these were two Kalamazoo gangs that don’t have ties to Comstock, but apparently two of the students, two of the individuals they targeted, were at our game,” said Thoenes.
Thoenes says the district is set to release a letter to students and staff on Wednesday, highlighting the past two events and how the community can move forward.
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