An MLB game between the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres erupted into chaos Saturday night after gunshots rang out near Nationals Park in Washington, causing players and fans to flee for safety.
Videos of the incident quickly spread on social media with the Nationals’ Twitter account confirming gunshots outside the stadium. Players and fans could be seen running for cover.
“Something crazy going on at Nationals Park,” Boston Globe sportswriter Ben Volin tweeted. “Players just sprinted off the field and fans running from the stands.”
Four people outside the stadium were struck by gunfire, though none of the wounds appeared to be life-threatening, a D.C. Metropolitan Police Department source told Fox News.
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Two of the victims were found wounded outside the stadium while two others sought treatment at a nearby hospital, FOX 5 of Washington reported.
Padres stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado opened a gate to the field area so that some frightened fans could seek refuge in the team’s dugout, Andrew Golden of the Washington Post wrote on Twitter.
The area near the stadium has seen a spike in gun violence recently, the police source said. Recent incidents have included an Uber driver being carjacked and killed by teenage suspects.
The gunfire came just one night after a 6-year-old girl was killed by gunfire in the nation’s capital, with five adults wounded in the same incident.
The public-address announcer at the stadium told fans to stay inside the park.
The game was in the sixth inning at the time of the incident.
Spectators leave Nationals Park after an incident near the ballpark during the sixth inning of a baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres, Saturday, July 17, 2021, in Washington. (Associated Press)
Just after 10 p.m., the Nationals posted a statement, saying the game had been suspended and would resume at 1:05 p.m. Sunday, followed by the game that was already scheduled for Sunday. The Padres were leading 8-4 when Saturday’s game was interrupted.
Jurickson Profar of the San Diego Padres is seen comforting a child after Saturday’s Nationals-Padres game was suspended following gunfire outside the stadium. (Getty Images)
The Washington Nationals posted on Twitter that gunshots had been reported.
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Firetrucks and ambulances were spotted on the scene.
Fans are seen at Nationals Park after Saturday’s game was delayed after the sound of gunfire. (Associated Press)
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Washington, D.C. Metro Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
San Diego Padres player Wil Myers talks on a cell phone during a stoppage in play due to gunfire near the ballpark during the sixth inning of a baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the Padres, Saturday, July 17, 2021, in Washington. (Associated Press)
Nationals Park is located less than 2 miles south of the U.S. Capitol, in Washington’s Southwest Waterfront area. It opened in March 2008, three years after the Nationals arrived in the city after moving there from Montreal, where they were known as the Expos for more than 30 years.
Both Nationals Park and nearby Audi Field, which opened in 2018 as the home of soccer’s D.C. United, were built in the area as part of efforts to revive that part of the city.
