LAFAYETTE -- What may have been the final football game to be played between LaFayette and Lanett high schools at Bulldog Stadium was marred by a fatal shooting that took place just outside the stadium during halftime. With school consolidation on the way, there may be no LaFayette High in 2027, when the game would be scheduled back in LaFayette.

Valley Times News' Wayne Clark was there for the tragic turn of events.

The game was suspended at the half with Lanett being given a 1-0 win even though their lead had been much bigger.

The Panthers were ahead 36-o at the time, but that became secondary to what took place at the half.

The LaFayette High band had just marched off the field after another crowd-pleasing performance and the scoreboard clock was counting down the minutes until the start of the second half. There was a hush among the crowd, but as the clock got under the seven-minute mark, that quiet was broken by the sound of several loud bangs coming from just outside the northeast corner of the stadium.

At first it seemed like it was fireworks, something that often happens when the home team is playing well. Before one could wonder why they'd be doing that when they were down 36-0, panic broke out in the homeside stands. People were running to the exit on the west side of the stadium, and the realization became very real that it must have been a shooting and people leaving the game were in danger of being caught up in a stampede.

At that moment, the stadium announcer did a good thing by restoring order.

"Please remain where you are!" he said. "There was a shooting outside the stadium. You are in no danger where you are."

Seconds after that, the situation grew more grim with the sound of many emergency vehicles approaching. There were flashing blue lights of police vehicles and the red and amber ones from ambulances.

Within mere minutes there was a massive law enforcement and first responder presence. They quickly cordoned off the area near the junction of Alabama Avenue East and Northeast 7th Street.

Anyone who has ever been to a LaFayette High home football game knows this is the very heart of Bulldog Nation. It's here where pre-game and post-game get-togethers take place at home games, especially on homecoming night and when LaFayette plays their cross-county rival, the Lanett Panthers.

Excitement is in the air and much anticipation of a football game and the halftime show. Tents have been set up in the yards, lots of people are seated in lawn chairs and the wonderful aroma of meat cooking on the grill fills the air. It's Friday night lights in LaFayette, and if you love the Bulldogs, win or lose, you need to be there.

Those who gather there love that team in black and gold, they love the shows their high-energy band puts on at halftime and they love that high school down the street.

It's so sad a fatal shooting took place in the heart of Bulldog Nation on game night with your big rival.

As media representatives were arriving, a downcast man leaving the cordoned-off area had bad news to report.

"This is so bad! So bad!' he said. "They are still trying to save his life, but it doesn't look good. I know the man's family. I know his dad."

Mayor Kenneth Vines confirmed the bad news on social media. "Last night a tragic loss occurred in our beloved city," he reported. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased."

Vines said the incident was not related to the football game or the rivalry between the two schools.

"Be assured that this incident was isolated, an arrest has been made relative to what has happened and law enforcement is not aware of any further threat to the community. I want to thank the Public Safety Department for their swift response and the action that was taken at the scene of the incident."

In any fatal shooting, one's life is over and someone else's life is ruined. They will be held to account for what they've done.