7 more minors charged in post-football game fight in Utica that left security officer shot
Utica NY September 25 2023
Seven minors have been charged in connection with a Sept. 9 fight in a parking lot after a Thomas R. Proctor High School football game in which a school security officer was shot, Utica police said.
The minors, whose names have not been released, have all been charged with second-degree riot, police said. One, a boy who allegedly had a knife during the fight, has also been charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
The arrests by the Utica Police Department’s Juvenile Aid Unit took place on Wednesday and Thursday, police said.
Eight youths face charges in connection with a fight that broke out after a Thomas R. Proctor High School football game on Sept. 9 in which a school security officer was shot in the back of the head.
A 17-year-old boy, who was 16 at the time of the fight, turned himself in on Sept. 10 after hearing police were looking for him. The teen, who attends an alternative education program, has been charged with second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (on school grounds), criminal possession of a firearm and first-degree criminal use of a firearm.
He will be tried as an adult.
The fight broke out shortly after 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9 after a football game between Proctor and Binghamton High School ended. The combatants had attended the game, at which a metal detector was used, but did not bring in any weapons, police said.
After the game, a knife and a gun were obtained in the parking lot, police said.
As school security officers and Utica police officers tried to break up the fight, at least two shots were fired, according to police. One hit security officer Jeff Lynch in the back of the head.
Lynch, who was in critical condition that evening, has since been released from the hospital and is expected to make a complete recovery, police have said.
The fight has been investigated by the Utica police working with the Utica City School District, Oneida County Probation and the Oneida County District Attorney’s office. The investigation is ongoing and more charges may be filed.
The school district has been working with other districts to ensure that its student-athletes can safely play all the games in their seasons.
