A shooting just outside Nationals Park caused a panic inside the stadium as a major league baseball game was happening.
D.C. Metro Police say at least three people were wounded Saturday night as the Washington Nationals were hosting the San Diego Padres. According to CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave, who was inside the stadium at the time shots rang out during the bottom of the sixth inning, confusion and fear quickly set in among the crowd. At first, some fans thought there was an active shooter inside the stadium.
Van Cleave said hundreds of people started rushing toward the center-field exit gates.
While that was happening, some quick-thinking Padres players including Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Wil Myers opened the gates that provide access to the field and led some fans into the visitors dugout for safety.
Here is the footage of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Wil Myers helping fans when in fear (of the shooting at Nationals Park). pic.twitter.com/9ApuHIs4Oy
— Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) July 18, 2021
Just ended up in the Padres dugout bc of shooting. Thank you Manny Machado and @Padres pic.twitter.com/B2GaJ7Wt6V
— Alaina (@alaina1424) July 18, 2021
The public-address announcer tried to help calm the situation by telling the crowd the shooting occurred outside the stadium. Ashan Benedict, executive assistant chief of police for the D.C. Metropolitan Police department later told CNN the fans inside the stadium were never in danger.
“I just want to assure the public that at no time during this incident were individuals inside the stadium attending the game in any kind of danger. This was not an active shooter incident and it’s not being investigated as such. Everything took place outside the stadium.”
The game was suspended. It will resume today at 1:05 pm.