An 18-year-old high school football star is being posthumously hailed a hero for shielding others from gunfire that erupted at a fall festival in Indiana.
Corydon Central High School senior Bryce Gerlach was fatally shot when at least two different groups got into an argument that turned violent at the Harvest Homecoming Festival in New Albany, Ind. Saturday night.
Gerlach, one of three bystanders struck during the shooting, is believed to have shielded others in his group from the hail of bullets, according to WAVE.
“It was very selfless what he did, and I’m thankful he went out in such a heroic way so that’s how people remember him because that’s what he was he was a hero,” Gerlach’s close friend Tanner Chumly told the outlet.
The shooting began just before 10 p.m. Saturday near State Street and Black Avenue where the rides for the festival were set up, less than a block from the Ohio River and the Indiana-Kentucky border.
Police say there were likely “multiple shooters” firing from different directions before striking innocent bystanders.
“Our initial belief is that all the persons who were shot in the incident were completely unrelated to the dispute that led to it,” New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey said at a press conference Sunday morning.
Bailey identified the persons of interest as Black males in their teens and early 20s, but no arrests have been made in the shooting.
The suspects, who fled the scene, were described as a danger to the public.
“The reckless nature of what they did would lead any reasonable person to say ‘Yes, these are dangerous individuals,’” Bailey said.
New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan blasted the suspects and the gun violence that killed Gerlach.
“We’ve enjoyed a safe Harvest Homecoming for nearly 57 years, but sadly, this type of gun violence is now all too common across the United States,” Gahan said. “Gun violence at a family festival is heartbreaking and tragic, and our country must find a way to come together to stop this type of violence.”
Along with Gerlach, Brendan Hagan and a 42-year-old woman were also injured in the shooting.
Hagan was with his girlfriend and 10-month-old son when he heard a group of teens arguing in a nearby parking lot.
The 22-year-old began walking away when the shooting began.
“I heard gunshots ringing off,” Hagan told WAVE from the hospital. “It was either the first or second one that hit me right in my leg. That’s when I hit the ground for maybe half a second, but my adrenaline rush was going straight through the roof, so I got up on my left leg and got out of the way.”
The bullet struck an artery and he was losing blood fast before his shirt was used as a tourniquet on his leg.
He was hospitalized in serious condition.
The unidentified woman was hit in her “lower extremities” and had been treated and released.
Sunday’s Harvest Homecoming events were canceled because of the shooting.
Gerchan was scheduled to play his final home football game Friday, as part of a senior send-off, as the teen and his father were actively looking at colleges to play and attend.
“His father told me they were meeting this week to talk to recruiters about where to play at the college level,” South Harrison Community School Corporation Superintendent Mark Eastridge told WDRB.
Gerchan’s father called out the “evil” shooting that took his son’s life.
“His father told me that this is an example where evil will not win,” Eastridge said. “Good and love will triumph.”
Eastridge said people inside the school district are struggling with Gerchan’s death because of the circumstances.
“You had a young man that was just going out to enjoy himself with friends at a local festival, and to have his innocence and his life ripped from him by the senseless violence, it makes it all the more difficult to deal with as a school and a school community.” Eastridge told WAVE.