The football game between Mainland High School and Cocoa High School was delayed Friday night, due to a large police response to an incident in the vicinity. The game, which took place at Mainland's football complex in Daytona Beach, was halted around halftime as a large law enforcement presence began to assemble.
The game was first interrupted when Mainland Principal Joseph Castelli had faculty, athletes, cheerleaders, officials, and press exit the field. A subsequent announcement over the stadium's loudspeakers told fans to stay in their seats, and police began to form a perimeter around the facility. A police helicopter was present for a short time.
"Mid-second quarter we had an issue at our gate, but I'm grateful that [the plan] we had in place did its job," said Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young in an interview Friday. "No one can enter in without going through a metal detector."
Young said a juvenile was caught by staff with a firearm in his bag, at which they summoned a Daytona Beach Police officer. The juvenile ran, Young said, and three total suspects were identified. Two were in custody at the time of Young's remarks Friday night, and he said the DBPD believe there were no other guns involved. "We conducted a search as good as we could for that third subject, and then once we met with the School Board we deemed it safe to resume the game."
The Mainland Buccaneers ultimately lost to the Cocoa Tigers by a score of 51-0.
