MLB: fans leave stadium after shots heard during Padres-Nationals game – video MLB Padres-Nationals MLB game suspended after shooting outside stadium Washington DC police say three injured in incident
Fans leave stadium after shots heard during Saturday’s game Associated Press Sun 18 Jul 2021 03.47 BST Share on Facebook
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The game Major League Baseball game between the San Diego Padres and Washington was suspended in the sixth inning on Saturday night after a shooting outside Nationals Park that caused echoes of gunfire inside the stadium and prompted fans to scramble for safety in the dugout.
The shooting, an exchange of gunfire between people in two cars, left three people injured, according to Ashan Benedict, the Metropolitan police department’s executive assistant police chief. One of the people who was shot was a woman who was attending the game and who was struck while she was outside the stadium, he said. Her injuries weren’t considered life-threatening.
Two people who were in one of the cars later walked into a local hospital with gunshot wounds and were being questioned by investigators, Benedict said. The extent of their injuries wasn’t immediately clear. Investigators were still trying to locate the second vehicle involved in the shooting.
The gunshots caused panic among fans inside the stadium, some of whom ducked for cover, hiding underneath tables and behind seats as announcers warned people to stay inside the park.
“It was just a chaotic scene,” umpire crew chief Mark Carlson told Associated Press. “We heard what sounded like rapid gunfire. We didn’t know where it was coming from.”
The Padres had just taken the field for the bottom of the sixth when several loud pops were heard from the left field side of the ballpark. Some fans crowded into the Padres’ dugout for cover, while sirens could be heard from outside the park.
Ted Borenstein, 26, was at the game with his girlfriend and his best friend, celebrating her birthday and “having a great time” when he heard two pops. He said the group thought it was practice for a fireworks show. Borenstein said he quickly realized it was far more serious when he saw people in the stands start filing out and watched Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr “bolt from the field.”
More than two dozen police cars, ambulances and fire engines were on the street outside the third base side of the stadium and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
The shooting comes as Washington, like many other cities in the US, is facing a rising number of cases of gun violence. A six-year-old girl was killed and five other people were wounded in a shooting Friday night about three miles from Nationals Park.
The Padres led 8-4 when the game was halted. It will be resumed on Sunday afternoon, followed by the regularly scheduled game. Officials said fans should expect to see an increased police presence at Sunday’s game.
