Fourth person arrested following fight at Canal Winchester vs. Groveport Madison game

A fourth person has been arrested in connection with a fight Friday night at Canal Winchester High School during a football game against Groveport Madison in which "three modified firearms" were recovered, Madison Township police report.

Sharod Bowers, 18, of Columbus' Southwest Side, and three 17-year-old males were arrested by Madison Township police or Franklin Counthy Sheriff's deputies.

Bowers has been charged with felony counts of carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a deadly weapon in a school safety zone. He is being held in the Franklin County jail pending his first court appearance Monday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court.

Two of the three juveniles will face delinquency charges similar to Bowers in Franklin County Common Pleas Court Juvenile Division, and the third juvenile is facing disorderly conduct and menacing charges.

It was the second straight year guns have marred the game.

A fight broke out at this year's game shortly before 8 p.m., according to a statement sent to Canal Winchester and Groveport Madison families following the incident. Madison Township police, who had eight officers working the game, removed the individuals involved from the stadium into the parking lot area, but reported that one of them was acting suspiciously.

That led police to search that individual, and a concealed handgun was found. Police then searched all four individuals and found two other handguns, all of which reportedly had switches that converted them from semiautomatic to automatic weapons.

Canal Winchester Schools had incorrectly reported earlier that four concealed weapons were found, carried by three people.

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None of the four were students at either high school, school officials said, though they did not address whether any may have been former students. Madison Township police and school officials determined that with the four suspects in custody and the weapons secured, it would be safe to finish the rest of the football game.

"The events at (Friday night’s) game are both scary and frustrating," read a joint statement from Canal Winchester and Groveport Madison Local school districts. "Our students deserve to attend games with their friends and make memories without fearing for their safety."

The districts "condemn the actions of the few individuals who created this disturbance and showed incomprehensible disregard for the safety of our school communities," the statement continued.

This is the second incident involving guns in as many years at a football game between the two high schools. Almost exactly a year ago, a shooting occurred at a Canal Winchester-Groveport Madison game. Nobody was injured, but 18-year-old James Keys was arrested and charged in federal court.

District officials said in the Friday statement that they planned to release further information about updated safety procedures for football games this coming week.

"Just as we have over the last year, we plan to continue to work together to make sure our students have the opportunity to safely enjoy their high school experiences like football games," the statement said.

Canal Winchester defeated Groveport-Madison 17-0 in Friday night's nonconference football game.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Concealed guns found on 3 of 4 arrested at high school football game