Three shots fired during a Little League game in North Carolina caused coaches, umpires, and youngsters to fall to the ground seeking cover as parents and fans screamed.
The state tournament game, involving 7- and 8-year-olds from South Durham and Lake Norman, was interrupted by the gun shots Sunday morning, WITN reported.
Video shows smoke, caused by one bullet hitting the ground, near a player in the outfield.
"One of the shots impacted in the outfield right by my son, and there were several players that were right there also," Pius Walcourt told WITN.
One witness told WITN that players were lying face down in the dugouts and on the field for protection.
The Little League state championship was canceled for the rest of the day, and multiple teams dropped out of the tournament after the shooting.
A unoccupied minivan in the complex’s parking lot had its windows shot out, Wilson police said.
"I had a pistol in my car and as I was running to my car I was thinking, Do I go get my son or do I go and get my pistol?" parent Dominique Williams told WITN.
"I made the decision to fight back in case the shooter approached."
Police on Monday told WITN there was no evidence anyone at the ballpark had been targeted intentionally by the gunfire. Authorities added that they continued to search for the gunman.
Walcourt told WITN that people who were there during the shooting were continuing to process the traumatic experience.
"It’s just something that would never be expected to happen," he told WITN. "It’s just very sad that someone would ever want to shoot anything near a youth event.
"These are kids. They have their whole lives ahead of them and for something like this to happen. It could traumatize them for the rest of their lives."
Gun violence has been a focus of lawmakers and citizens in recent months following mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, Uvalde, Texas and Highland Park, Illinois.
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