Indiana high school student Bryce Gerlach was hailed as a hero at the New Albany Harvest Homecoming Festival after the shooting

An 18-year-old high school football star is being posthumously hailed as a hero for protecting others from gunfire that erupted at a fall festival in Indiana.

Corydon Central High School graduate Bryce Gerlach was fatally shot Saturday night at the Harvest Homecoming Festival in New Albany, Indiana, when at least two different groups got into an argument that turned violent.

According to WAVE, Gerlach, one of three bystanders hit during the shooting, is said to have protected others in his group from the hail of bullets.

“It was very selfless what he did and I’m grateful that he acted so heroically, that’s why people remember him because that’s what he was, he was a hero,” Gerlach’s close friend Tanner Chumly told the point of sale.

Filming began just before 10 p.m. Saturday near State Street and Black Avenue, where the festival’s rides were set up, less than a block from the Ohio River and the Indiana-Kentucky border.

Police believe there were likely “multiple shooters” who fired from different directions before hitting innocent bystanders.

“Our initial assumption is that all of the individuals shot in the incident had nothing whatsoever to do with the dispute that led to it,” New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey said at a news conference Sunday morning.

Bailey identified the persons of interest as black men in their teens and early 20s, but no arrests were made in the shooting.

The suspects, who fled the scene, were described as a danger to the public.

“The recklessness of their actions would cause any reasonable person to say, ‘Yes, these are dangerous people,'” Bailey said.

New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan criticized the suspects and the gun violence that killed Gerlach.

“We have enjoyed a safe Harvest Homecoming for nearly 57 years, but unfortunately this type of gun violence has become all too common in the United States,” Gahan said. “Gun violence at a family gathering is heartbreaking and tragic, and our country must find a way to work together to stop this kind of violence.”

In addition to Gerlach, Brendan Hagan and a 42-year-old woman were also injured in the shooting.

Hagan was with his girlfriend and 10-month-old son when he heard a group of teenagers arguing in a nearby parking lot.

When the shooting began, the 22-year-old began walking away.

“I heard gunshots,” Hagan told WAVE from the hospital. “Either the first or second punch hit me directly on the leg. Then I hit the ground for maybe half a second, but my adrenaline went through the roof, so I stood up on my left leg and got out of the way.”

The bullet hit an artery and he quickly lost blood before his shirt was used as a tourniquet on his leg.

He was taken to hospital in serious condition.

The unidentified woman was hit in her “lower extremities” and treated and released.

Sunday’s Harvest Homecoming events were canceled because of the shooting.

Gerchan was scheduled to play his final home football game Friday as part of a senior farewell as the teenager and his father actively searched for colleges to play for and attend.

“His father told me they were meeting this week to talk to recruiters about where to play at the college level,” Mark Eastridge, superintendent of the South Harrison Community School Corporation, told WDRB.

Gerchan’s father called out the “evil” shooting that killed his son.

“His father told me this was an example where evil would not prevail,” Eastridge said. “Goodness and love will triumph.”

Eastridge said people in the school district are struggling with Gerchan’s death because of the circumstances.

“There was a young man who was about to have fun with friends at a local festival, and when his innocence and life were taken away from him through senseless violence, it makes it even more difficult for the school and a school community to deal with.” Eastridge told WAVE.