Saturday night’s game between the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals was suspended after a shooting outside Nationals Park, the team announced.
The shooting occurred outside the third base gate, the team and D.C. Metro Police said, halting play in the sixth inning and leading to moments of panic inside and outside the stadium.
Four people were wounded in the shooting, according to the MPD, and gunshots were audible from within Nationals Park, sowing confusion among fans, players and stadium employees.
After the gunshots rang out, players from the Padres summoned family members into their dugout to shelter in the stadium’s lowest level. The shooting also prompted fans to take cover within the stadium, according to multiple eyewitness accounts posted to social media.
D.C. police reported the shooting occurred at N Street and South Capitol Street Southeast, outside the left field corner of the stadium. Moments after the shooting, a public-address announcement urged fans to stay in the ballpark, as many fled the stadium, unclear of the gunshots’ origin.
Shortly thereafter, message boards and announcements within the stadium asked fans to depart through the center field gates.
Two gunshot victims were located and treated at the scene, MPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck told USA TODAY Sports. A short time later, Sternbeck said, two additional victims walked into an area hospital with gunshot wounds.
The game, which the Padres lead 8-4, will be resumed Sunday at 1:05 p.m., before the scheduled finale of the teams’ three-game series.
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