Police in North Charleston (SC) are investigating a shooting outside of a little league baseball field Monday night that sent parents, fans and players ducking for cover in the middle of a game. No injuries were reported.
According to a police report obtained by USA TODAY Sports, officers heard dozens of gunshots at around 8:43 pm, coming from the parking lot of Pepperhill Park in North Charleston, where there are three youth baseball fields. When they arrived at the scene, officers spoke to witnesses who said that “a large group of teenagers pulled into the parking lot in separate vehicles and began to fist fight with each other.”
Witnesses then told police that the suspects began firing guns at each other before all suspects fled the scene in their cars. In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports, North Charleston Police spokesperson Harve Jacobs said “several youth baseball games were underway when this incident occurred” and that the incident “had nothing to do with the Park, youth athletes, parents or coaches.”
According to police, three cars belonging to people unrelated to the shooting were struck by gunfire. Officers on scene watched the surveillance footage from the baseball stand. Later, detectives arrived on scene and interviewed a subject who arrived later to the scene and searched two cars in question.
Games scheduled at Pepperhill Park for Tuesday have been canceled.
In the video, a batter is seen stepping up to the plate, apparently awaiting a pitch when a spate of gunshots are fired in the apparent immediate area of the field. Then, the children playing in the game as well as the ones in the third base dugout and coaches and fans on bleachers along the third base line start to run for cover.
“Is it fireworks?” a voice off screen is heard asking, while players and coaches kneel down or lie prone on the field. Eventually, a group of players takes cover in the third base dugout as players continue to flee the infield.
“Get off the field,” another off-screen voice is heard shouting, joined by a third voice who urges someone to “crawl that way.”
In a statement, police said North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey watched a citizen’s video of the incident and “is appalled by what he heard and saw.” In the same statement, police said Assistant Chief Greg Gomes “vehemently denounces this violence and is outraged at those responsible for putting so many innocent lives in danger.”
North Charleston police leadership will meet with the city’s recreation staff on Wednesday to form a plan to ensure the safety of children and their guardians when playing in the city’s parks. The NCPD has also been in communication with the Dee Norton Children’s Advocacy Center to offer services for the children involved in Monday’s incident to help them navigate the fallout of dealing with the incident.
“NCPD officers are actively investigating this incident to the fullest extent of the law and will do everything in their power to locate and arrest the individuals involved in this heinous and reckless act,” North Charleston Police said in a statement. “We will leave no stone unturned in bringing these suspects to justice.”
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism