High school football star believed to have died protecting others during filming: ‘He was a hero’

Police said a 22-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman were also injured in the incident and were taken to hospital.

An 18-year-old high school student who was killed in a shooting at a Harvest Homecoming event in Indiana has been remembered as a hero.

New Albany Police Department Chief of Police Todd Bailey said in a press conference shared by WLKY News that Bryce Gerlach was killed after shots were fired at the event around 9:50 p.m. local time on Saturday, Oct. 12. .

Bailey noted that Gerlach and two other people — a 22-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman who were injured in the incident and have not been identified by police — were “innocent bystanders” who were shot at the event. Gerlach was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other two were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

He said that through the preliminary investigation, “it was believed that at least two groups of individuals were involved in a dispute” that “led to shots being fired,” and that investigators had identified several persons of interest in the shooting. However, police did not say at the time whether anyone was detained.

Several of Gerlach’s classmates from Corydon Central High School told WAVE they believed he died a hero, trying to protect others in his group from bullets after the shooting began.

“It was very selfless what he did,” Gerlach’s friend Tanner Chumly told the outlet. “And I’m grateful that he came out in such a heroic way, so that’s how people remember him, because that’s what he was. He was a hero.”

Gerlach was identified as a football player on the school team. Corydon Central football coach Luke Keller told the Louisville Post Journal that Gerlach “always jumped to the front line to take on that leadership role.”

In a separate post, the athletics team said “our hearts are incredibly heavy” following the news of the 18-year-old’s death.

“There are not enough words to describe the condolences we extend to his family and friends,” they added.

New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan also extended his “condolences” to Gerlach’s family in a statement on Facebook, adding: “Gun violence at a family festival is heartbreaking and tragic, and our country must find a way to come together to put an end to this type of violence.” .”

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