Shooting victims at high school football game were targeted, officials say

Police officers stand watch as spectators are bussed from a shooting incident at a practice football game between Dwyer and Palm Beach Central High School Friday, Aug. 17, 2018, in Wellington, Fla. (Associated Press)

The Friday night shooting outside a Florida high school football game in which two men were wounded had nothing to do with the students, and two suspects targeted the victims, authorities said.

One of the two victims was identified as Daniel Foster Sr., 39, the father of Daniel Foster Jr., a linebacker for the Dwyer High School team, who were the visiting side. The father was in stable condition with a gunshot wound to his torso, authorities said.

The other injured person was a 29-year-old man whose name was not released. He was in critical but stable condition, officials said Saturday, according to the Palm Beach Post.

At a news conference Saturday, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the two suspects specifically targeted the two victims because of unspecified past dealings, and that the shootings occurred at the game because the victims happened to be there.

"This shooting WAS NOT a random act of violence and had NO bearing on the Palm Beach Central or William T. Dwyer High Schools, students, faculty and/or staff," the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office tweeted. "The shooting occurred just outside the seating area of the stadium near the ticket booth."

The shooting caused panic at the game at Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington, including some injuries as people fled the stadium in chaos.

Witnesses said the stands were full during the game's fourth quarter, when they heard the gunfire.

School officials said the elder Foster was estranged from the family, and father and son have never had a close relationship.

“This young man never lived with the dad, he’s never been in a relationship with the dad, he’s not even listed as a parent on the student record,” Dwyer Principal Correy Brooks said on behalf of Daniel Jr.'s mother, according to the Post. “He does not come to the football games and mom saw him last night and was very surprised to see him."

Brooks said he was concerned that "this kid now is being targeted," the Post reported.

No arrests had been made as of late Saturday, but authorities have descriptions of two suspects, Teri Barbera, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, told the Post.

Both suspects are black and carried handguns, she said.

Witnesses described one of the suspects as being in his late teens to early 20s and wearing a baggy white T-shirt, the report said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.