Several stabbed following youth football game in Youngstown
Youngstown police say as many as three people were stabbed following a youth football game near Kirkmere Elementary School in Youngstown Saturday afternoon.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Youngstown police say as many as three people were stabbed following a youth football game near Kirkmere Elementary School in Youngstown Saturday afternoon.
It happened shortly after 3:00 p.m. near a football field just west of the school.
One of the victims may be a coach for one of the youth football teams a source tells 21 News.
The victims were sent to a local hospital and all are reported to be in stable condition.
According to a Youngstown police report, two of the victims have severe lacerations and another victim has a minor injury.
The United Football League was holding its tournament games today, and the children involved in the league are ages 6 - 13.
Several witnesses tell 21 News that they believe this all started because of a man who has had an on-going problem with one of the coaches.
The man, who has a nephew playing for one of the teams, reportedly has been upset that his nephew is not receiving enough playing time.
The witnesses say when they saw the man they bring his friends to the game they tried to keep him separated from the coach.
But before they knew it, the man's girlfriend had allegedly started a fight with one of the children's parents and then others got involved and things quickly got out of control.
The Youngstown woman, who did not want to be identified, told 21 News, "It wasn't the time and place for it where all these kids was at and everything. And I don't want our team name getting slandered because of parents making bad decisions doing stuff that they shouldn't be doing. Places where they shouldn't be doing stuff at, and it's affecting these kids. We're trying to get an environment for these kids to feel safe and protected."
Witnesses say there is security at the game, but with hundreds of kids, parents and spectators things just happened too fast.
Youngstown police say there is confusion as to what really happened. Police are investigating and will interview those who were injured. It appears, they believe, that there may be several suspects. But no arrests have been made.
At this time, the names of those injured have not been released.
21 News is working to gather more information on this developing story.
