Gunfire erupts outside Nationals Park, 3 people injured in scary scene for fans
A scary scene unfolded late Saturday night outside of Nationals Park in Washington during the Nationals game against the San Diego Padres.
Fans and members of players families scrambled toward and inside the dugouts as the gunfire caused a frenzy. 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, the Associated Press reported. 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.
The game was suspended in the sixth inning, and will be resumed on Sunday afternoon.
“It was just a chaotic scene,” umpire crew chief Mark Carlson told The Associated Press. “We heard what sounded like rapid gunfire. We didn’t know where it was coming from.”
MPD is responding to a shooting in the 1500 block of South Capitol Street, SW, in which two people where shot outside of Nationals Park. This is currently an active investigation and it appears there is no ongoing threat at this time.
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) July 18, 2021
Karl Frisch, section 306, thought it was firecrackers at first, but then realized it was worse.
“We peaked over the railing and saw a group of officers around a person who was laying on the ground…And then, almost immediately, Nationals Park staff started pushing people back.” https://t.co/gKvSXh3wNB
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) July 18, 2021
Hope everyone is safe at Nationals park. I heard a few loud bangs and then a mass exodus. View from my roof pic.twitter.com/MA1B7z83u2
— Jalen Drummond (@jalen_drummond) July 18, 2021
Tonight’s game has been suspended due to an incident surrounding Nationals Park.
It will resume tomorrow, Sunday, July 18, at 1:05 PM ET. pic.twitter.com/PAGf0uYZ9Y
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 18, 2021