TOLEDO, Ohio — Officials said no less than 15 deputies were working at the Whitmer and Central Catholic high school football game on Friday where a shooting happened outside Whitmer's stadium during the 4th quarter Friday night.
Witnesses said security was so tight at Whitmer's football stadium, Central's fans were not even allowed to use bathrooms intended for Whitmer fans.
Washington Local's superintendent Kadee Anstadt said safety is the first priority and was a top concern where fans from both schools were the only ones allowed in prior to the shooting.
RELATED: No suspects in custody following Whitmer HS football shooting, all 3 victims expected to recover
"These are outside people, trying to steal the joy of the people in the city," Anstadt said. "These are people not a part of our teams, not a part of our schools. These are outsiders."
Anstadt said they felt secure about who was inside the stadium and very secure when they had to evacuate to the field house as she said the threat inside the stadium was contained.
Whitmer senior, Brady Hall attended the game and said he heard the gunshots while stuck in traffic heading home early, but he said he would've never expected this to happen.
"This game especially we had extra security precautions, we were abundantly staffed with district resource officers, Toledo police officers. There were metal detectors," Hall said.
Even in a terrorizing situation, Anstadt said she couldn't be prouder of how everyone came together to follow the school's safety plan even though they hope things like this never happen.
"Instinct took over immediately and everyone knew what their job was. Kids knew how to evacuate, they knew how to funnel out quickly, they were helping each other," she said.
Hall said the district was just practicing safety procedures the previous week and said it helped ensure students were able to exit efficiently, strategically and safely. He also said the Whitmer community has come together even more now.
"Everybody is checking in on everybody, 'Are you okay, what can I do for you?' It's never a selfless 'I need to get out of here,' It's 'hey, we need to get out of here,'" said Hall.
Anstadt said everyone ended up on one team.
"Everybody knew what their job was, even the kids. Our kids acted heroically, our staff acted heroically, and honestly, a lot of lives were probably saved because of that," she said.
Anstadt said they are working with the mayor and TPD to go through the security footage, and Whitmer High School will be holding counseling sessions Sunday at 4 p.m. which will be open to students and their families from either school.
She said a school assembly will be held to talk more with the students at Whitmer High School on Monday.