At least three people were injured Saturday in a shooting outside Nationals Park Stadium during a baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres. Hundreds of people fled upon hearing the shots, while others sought shelter.
The police first said that there were four victims but later clarified at a press conference that there were three.
The shooting started when people who were in two cars began to shoot, according to the deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, Ashan Benedict. One of the people who turned out injured is a woman who attended the game and was hit by a bullet. He is out of danger, according to authorities.
[Una niña de 6 años muere en un tiroteo en Washington D.C.]
Two people in one of the cars later went to a local hospital with gunshot wounds and are being questioned by investigators, Benedict said. did not clarify the extent of his injuries. Investigators are still trying to locate the second vehicle involved in the shooting.
The shooting was heard inside the stadium located in Washington DC, where the assistants ran to protect themselves from a possible threat. The police assure that the situation has already been controlled. The game was suspended and will resume on Sunday.
Videos of the moment when dozens of people fled were seen on social networks. In the stadium there were entire families, in some of the videos you can see how parents try to hide their children when it was still not clear where the shots came from.
The Washington Nationals’ own team confirmed the shooting, after Reports and videos circulated showing people running.
According The Washington PostWhen attendees were notified of the incident via the megaphone, some frightened spectators rushed to the center of the field because they thought they would be safe there, but the security guards sent them back to the stands.
Police said they are continuing to investigate the incident. Reports indicate that by 10:20 pm (local time) there was no one left inside the stadium.
“A chaotic scene”
“It was a chaotic scene,” referee Mark Carlson told The Associated Press news agency. “We heard what sounded like a quick shot. We didn’t know where it came from “added.
Ted Borenstein, 26, was at the party with his girlfriend and best friend, celebrating her birthday and “having a great time” when they heard two pops. The group thought it was a rehearsal for a fireworks show, Borenstein said.
But he quickly realized that it was something much more serious when he saw that the people in the stands started to come out and watched Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. “run off the field.”
In the Diamond Club of the stadium, the exclusive area where they were, people began to hide under tables and chairs, thinking that there was an attacker inside the stadium.
“The people were on the ground, as if petrified, trying to calm the younger ones, “Borenstein said.” I was surprised, I was scared, “he added.
Washington DC, like many other cities in the country, faces anIncreasing number of violent crimes and homicides. Just this friday night a 6-year-old girl was killed and five other people were injured in a shooting about three miles (five kilometers) from Nationals Park.
Just hours before the shooting outside the stadium, the mayor and the Washington police chief announced a $ 60,000 reward for anyone who provides information on the latest case.
With information from NBC News, EFE and AP.