This article was originally published by Rachel Roberts of the Idaho Statesman.
The Lakeside High School 8-man football team defeated Clark Fork 42-28 on Friday night for its second victory of the 2020 season. But what should have been a joyous 2-hour bus ride home turned into anything but for the Knights.
Less than a mile into their drive back to Plummer, Idaho, witnesses say a loud noise was heard and two of the bus windows shattered, according to a post on the Lakeside Knights Athletics Facebook page signed by Plummer-Worley School District Superintendent Russ Mitchell.
After pulling to a stop, the bus driver inspected the broken windows and determined that a projectile entered through a window on one side of the bus and exited through another window on the opposite side.
Some occupants of the bus received minor scratches from the broken glass, but no one was seriously hurt, said Captain Tim Hemphill of the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office in a phone interview Saturday with the Idaho Statesman.
There were 15 students, one bus driver and one coach aboard the bus, which was traveling westbound on the highway near the Lightning Creek area shortly before 10 p.m. when the unknown projectile struck the bus, Hemphill said.
“Emergency medical services was called to check on all passengers. It was surmised at that time that some kind of shot was fired at the bus,” Mitchell wrote on Facebook. “The authorities were called, statements taken, evidence collected and our students headed safely home, stopping in Sandpoint for something to eat.
“While all this was going on, Plummer-Worley staff and board members were discussing the matter and reaching out to the administrative staff of Clark Fork so they too could continue to press on what had transpired.”
Hemphill said the investigation into the incident is ongoing, and stressed that at this time the sheriff’s office has not determined precisely what the projectile was that hit the bus.
“Since the initial call, it’s been a very active and ongoing vigorous investigation,” Hemphill said. “That includes searching out potential witnesses, interviewing people and trying to obtain video from various different locations and sources in Clark Fork that might give us further information.”
Lakeside lineman Orion Taylor told Sami Edge of Idaho Education News that he was sitting next to one of the windows that was shattered and would have been hit if he’d been sitting up straighter in his seat.
“We were pretty shook up for like a good hour or so,” Taylor told Idaho Education News.
The Lakeside football team (2-1) is scheduled to play at Kootenai this coming Friday.
“Until authorities have investigated the incident, it is unknown who or what ultimately happened,” Mitchell wrote on Facebook.
