3 of 6 men charged in South Jersey high school football game shooting appear in court
MAYS LANDING, New Jersey -- Three of the six men charged in connection with a shooting at a high school football game that killed a 10-year-old boy in South Jersey on Friday night appeared in court on Thursday.
Michael Mack, 27, Tyrell Dorn, 28, Shahid Dixon, 27, all of Atlantic City and Vance Golden, 26, of Pleasantville have been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and certain persons not to possess a weapon. Dixon is also charged with eluding.
Mack, Dorn and Golden appeared Thursday; Dixon will appear at a future date. The suspected gunman, Alvin Wyatt, will also not appear Thursday. The charges against him have been upgraded to include murder after 10-year-old Micah Tennant died Wednesday. He is scheduled for court next week.
The shooting, which occurred during the third quarter of a playoff game between the Camden Panthers and the Pleasantville Greyhounds, critically injured Micah and a 27-year-old man, who police subsequently said was the suspected target. A 15-year-old boy suffered a graze wound and was treated at the hospital and released.
Authorities said 10-year-old Micah was struck in the neck. He was taken to Cooper University Hospital in critical condition following the incident but died Wednesday.
The 27-year-old man, later identified as Ibn Abdullah, remains in critical condition at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City Campus.
He has been charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, which is a first-degree crime since he has a prior conviction for robbery, and certain persons not permitted to possess a handgun, authorities said.
Abdullah was the target in the shooting, according to police.
Thirty-one-year-old Wyatt of Atlantic City, who authorities said shot Abdullah and the two children, has been charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
The four other men, according to the prosecutor's office, were at the game and later arrested.
"It's currently under investigation what their connection is with the actual incident that occurred here," Pleasantville Police Captain Matt Hartman said.
Police, firefighters, emergency personnel - both on and off-duty - came to the aid of players, parents, and spectators who ran for cover when shots rang out around 8:30 p.m.
Two retired firefighters, who were at the game as spectators, were among those who jumped into action to help, police said.
The Pleasantville Police Department had ten officers on duty at the game.
Moments after the shooting, Pleasantville Police Officer Robinson, who was assigned to patrol the game, noticed an individual who resembled the description of the shooter given by witnesses.
Wyatt was detained at the west end of the endzone, approximately 75 yards from where the shooting took place, as he tried to flee the scene.
Police said Wyatt initially gave a fake name to officers but was later identified.
Shortly thereafter, an officer with the Absecon Police Department was sitting at Delilah Road and Route 30 looking for any vehicles that appeared to be heading back to Atlantic City from the shooting.
When he saw a vehicle with no headlights on, he attempted to stop it.
The driver did not stop and a brief pursuit occurred, Captain Hartman said, at which time a firearm was thrown out the window on the Route 30 Bridge. It was recovered by authorities.
The vehicle eventually stopped at Ohio and Gramercy avenues in Atlantic City. The four people in the vehicle, identified as Mack, Dorn, Dixon, and Golden, were taken into custody.
