By Landen Braunstein
Executive News Editor
Friday night lights took a shocking turn on the night of Oct. 3 at Costa. With a few minutes remaining in the first quarter and the Mustangs up by 14 points, the football game came to an abrupt end. An evacuation took place following the discovery of a bullet in a nearby P.E. locker room.
Shortly after her arrival on campus, Dr. Jennifer Huynh was notified by a staff member that they had come across a bullet in the gymnasium. A water polo game had just ended, and a volleyball tournament and football game had just begun. Huynh immediately went to the press box and announced her decision to cancel the athletic events, and have everyone evacuate the campus.
“Initially I was shocked,” Huynh said. “This is the worst case scenario of what you ever want to find on a campus. The thought is: what do I need to do to make sure that safety is not at risk, and to get as many people to safety as fast as possible.”
Athletes, coaches, and fans exited the vicinity within 30 minutes of the announcement. Huynh reached out to leadership at the district office and contacted MBPD, which quickly arrived to investigate the campus with a K9 unit. The only pieces of evidence collected were clothing items found around the bullet.
“We went through all of the locker rooms and restrooms and we couldn’t find anything else,” Huynh said. “At that point, we determined that it was safe enough for the campus to reopen the following day.”
Costa junior and football team manager Allison Crawford said that the night was extremely overwhelming. She said that the football team rushed to get their gear before leaving, and that she saw people running through stop signs while frantically trying to get away from the campus.
“I got a little scared when all the football players were running into the locker rooms, and I was stuck in the middle of them not sure what to do,” Crawford said. “We waited there for a couple of minutes, conversing about what we thought was happening. Mr. Rosenthal came in and announced that he wanted everyone out as soon as possible.”
The identity of the individual responsible for the bullet is still unknown, and the situation is currently undergoing investigation. Administration is in the process of interviewing P.E. students to gather additional information.
“It’s a little bit like finding a needle in a haystack,” Huynh said. “Trying to identify an article of clotting with a bullet would be the strongest lead. Unfortunately, it hasn’t specifically led us to someone yet.”
Many students, staff, and families voiced their concerns following the cancellation of that game. In response to their worries, there was an increased security presence at Costa’s annual Homecoming dance, as well as the Homecoming game last Friday night.
“At the last game there were multiple safety precautions put in place,” Crawford said. “There were hand held metal detectors as well as police dogs. However, I still feel safe going to the football games because I know that keeping us safe is Costa’s top priority.”
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