Deadly shooting on Atlas Prep grounds not connected to football game: Pop Warner president
A fatal shooting at a Saturday youth football game stemmed from a fight between two spectators who knew each other but had no known connection to the players, coaches or volunteers, according to the president of Pikes Peak Pop Warner.
Michelle Quintana said the deadly shooting happened at the Atlas Prep School campus. A fight ensued between two men before the suspect pulled a gun and shot the victim multiple times, according to witnesses who declined to be named in order to avoid retaliation.
The wounded man died at the scene, according to police. An investigation is ongoing, but no suspect information had been announced as of Sunday afternoon.
“This situation was not related to our teams,” Quintana said in a statement. “It involved two individuals with prior personal issues who do not have children in our league and do not participate in any coaching or volunteer roles.”
A Facebook post shared to the school page, penned by Atlas Schools CEO Brittney Stroh, said that while the shooting happened on school grounds, the game was not affiliated with the school. In a message to Atlas families, Stroh confirmed that classes and activities would proceed as normal on Monday.

The local youth football organization had rented the field for several games slated to take place that day.
The 29-year-old victim’s godfather, who also declined to be named, said no memorial had been assembled at the shooting site because it was on school property. People who knew the victim were organizing a vigil, to be held at an undetermined time and place, the victim’s godfather said.
On Sunday morning, as a crew cleaned the area where the shooting took place, Quintana wondered how a Saturday youth football game could erupt into a violent tragedy that traumatized witnesses and forced the cancellation of the remaining games.
“Children saw this happen,” she told The Gazette. “Kids watched a man die. That makes this even more tragic.”





