Independence High School was set to kick off its football season against fellow Kern County rival Centennial High, but game night turned to tragedy.
A gang-related shooting claimed the life of 17-year-old student-athlete Levi Brown inside the stadium gates on Friday, Bakersfield police confirmed.
Brown played football for Independence High. In a Facebook post, football coach Vince Carter mourned his player, writing that Brown “was around the wrong crowd and was getting misled and misguided,” adding, “it hurts to see this is how it ended.”
It remains unconfirmed whether Brown was on the junior varsity or varsity team.
The shooting broke out around 8 p.m. following an argument— just as the varsity squad was taking the field, according to the football team’s Instagram account.
Panic ensued as multiple gunshots rang out. Video captured by KBAK/KBFX showed crowds of spectators and football players in full gear sprinting toward the exits. Responding officers transported Brown to Kern Medical, where he was pronounced dead.
“We know that families look forward to coming out every Friday night to watch their kids play,” Bakersfield Police Officer Eric Celedon said in a press conference Friday. “This was an isolated incident, and we want to reinforce that school games in Bakersfield remain safe.”
Despite those assurances, the violent outbreak has left the local community shaken.
“As a father who worked for the Kern high school district as a security guard, the district and the high school need to put a plan in place to prevent this from happening again,” said one parent on Facebook. “We need to hold the school district accountable for this incident.”
On Saturday, police confirmed that they arrested the suspected shooter, a 15-year-old male. It was not immediately clear if the shooter was a student at Independence High.
“Our hearts are with the family of the 17-year-old who lost his life, [and] all those impacted by this tragedy,” said the police department on X. “We have a strong community. That strength will carry us forward.”
Brown is survived by a one-year-old daughter, Carter told the California Post.
“Levi had crazy potential, and I always believed [in] him,” Carter wrote on Facebook. “Get your rest, kid. I’ll always remember the last 7v7 you played and said, ‘Coach, thank you for believing in me.’ Always did and always will.”
A similar scare occurred Saturday at Los Angeles Southwest College in San Pedro, where a loud noise triggered a stampede out of the stadium. Police later confirmed to ABC7 that no shooting took place.
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