“Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as he receives treatment for his injuries,” TheRac said in a social media post.
KATY, Texas — A baseball coach was shot in the shoulder by recreational gunfire during a game Sunday morning in the Katy area, according to officials. The disturbing scene was captured in a video stream of the game where you see coaches, players and an umpire scrambling for cover.
Alex Smith and Corbin Geisendorff are coaches of the Texas Colts, a 12-U baseball team in its first season, playing in its first tournament.
“I mean, its out in the country,” Geisendorff says on Saturday, they could hear gunshots echoing. Then, on Sunday, just two minutes before the start of the game, they heard shooting again.
“This kind of sounds like a little bit close today, not normal distance from a baseball field,” Geisendorff and other coaches start running for cover as bullets hit the field and a nearby light pole. The first thought was to get their kids to safety.
“It’s terrible. I’m going to try to not get emotional but I’ll never forget their little faces during that moment, it’s frightening,” Smith said.
TheRac Baseball Katy said the coach who was shot, identified only as a 27-year-old man, was taken by life flight to a hospital, where he was said to be stable. We got word late Sunday from the Waller County Sheriff’s Office that the coach had been released from the hospital. Eyewitnesses gave medical care before first responders arrived.
“They used a belt to tourniquet his arm and stop the bleeding real quick,” Geisendorff said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as he receives treatment for his injuries,” TheRac said in a social media post.
The Waller County Sheriff’s Office initially said the shooter or shooters were in custody, but a spokesperson later clarified that three people of interest have been identified and no one is currently in custody. The spokesperson also said investigators believe the incident was not carried out with malicious intent.
TheRac has paused all future practices and games at its facility “until law enforcement and our internal investigation has been completed to ensure the safety of all that visit the facility.”
The Texas Colts coaches say it’s their last time playing a tournament at the complex.
“It wasn’t one shot, there’s bullets flying everywhere off the poles onto the field, its just unbelievable, so yeah we’ll never be back there,” Geisendorff said.
Read TheRac’s original full statement:
“This morning, during a baseball game, an unfortunate incident occurred involving recreational shooting on a nearby property. The local police department was immediately notified of the possible illegal hunting and responded to the scene in an effort to locate and apprehend the individuals involved.
“During this time, a coach was struck in the shoulder. On-site medical personnel provided immediate care, and he was transported to the hospital for furhter treatment. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as he receives treatment for his injuries.
“The police have since apprehended the individuals in question. We are taking every single step possible to ensure this does not happen again on our property. Any future practices or games at the facility are at a pause until law enforcement and our internal investigation has been completed to ensure the safety of all that visit the facility.”
On Sunday afternoon, TheRac issued an updated statement acknowledging the seriousness of the incident and reaffirming its focus on safety. The full statement:
“We want to acknowledge the seriousness of the incident that occurred this morning at our facility. Our first statement was meant to provide timely and factual updates.
The safety and well-being of our players, families, coaches, staff, and community is our top priority. We are deeply shaken by what happened, and our focus remains on supporting the coach who was injured, his family, and everyone who was affected.
We are working closely with law enforcement and conducting our own internal review. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. All activities have been suspended for now.
We are grateful for the response of local authorities, the medical team on site, and the outpouring of care from our community.”
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