Our family was at Aerie Stadium for homecoming on Oct. 2. Our ninth-grader was in the student section and our fifth-grader was on the field as a ball boy. When the evacuation began, we could not reach either of them.
Since that night we have heard from many Eden Prairie parents and neighbors. They are saying good and necessary things about student safety, and this letter is our attempt to gather those voices, not just our own.
Police say a large fight preceded the shooting that wounded two young men in the parking lot, and that the shooting appears to be gang-related. No arrests have been announced. Three nights later, shots were fired at a gas station near the high school and four people were detained. Last December, the high school was locked down after a student brought a handgun to school.
The district has sent messages and listed new security measures, and we are grateful to everyone working on this. What families have not been offered is a chance to be in the room. Edina held a community town hall on gang violence Oct. 5. Eden Prairie should do the same.
We are asking Dr. Swanson and the School Board to hold an open public forum within two weeks and address four things:
- What happened on Oct. 2, including the fight, and whether any students involved have been held accountable.
- What security will look like at every remaining event this year.
- Whether discipline for fighting and violence is applied the same way to every student, with the numbers to show it.
- What the district’s after-action review found, shared in writing with families.
This is not about any group of students. Families of every background were in those stands, and all deserve the same safety and the same honest answers.
Eden Prairie has enormous wisdom and energy when it comes to its kids. A forum puts that to work, and this is the moment for it. If you agree, add your name here.
Ryan and Ashley Sather, Eden Prairie
