Baseball fans scramble after shooting outside Washington Nationals stadium

[July 19, 2021]  By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Some fans and players scrambled for cover at a professional baseball game in Washington on Saturday night as the sound of gunfire filled the stadium, and police later said several people had been shot outside.

It was not clear to fans initially if the shooting was inside the complex. Videos of the incident shared on social media showed some fans crowding into the third-base dugout.

The District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department had earlier said on Twitter that two people where shot outside of the ballpark.

It said in a follow-up tweet that "two additional victims associated with the incident walked into area hospitals for treatment of gunshot wounds." Media reports later said the number of people shot was revised down to three.

Spectators at the Nationals Park Stadium react after a shooting incident outside, in Washington, DC, U.S. July 17, 2021 in this still image taken from a social media video. Solomon Tucker/via REUTERS

The baseball game that had been in progress between the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres was suspended as a result of the shooting. Play is expected to resume on Sunday, followed by the regularly scheduled game.

The shooting occurred in the sixth inning.

The Washington Post reported that a man was shot in the leg and a woman was shot in the back, with wounds not said to be life-threatening, citing the police.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Kim Coghill)

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