College baseball player shot in middle of game while standing in bullpen

(TEXARKANA, Texas) — An 18-year-old college baseball player was shot by a stray bullet in the middle of a game while he was standing in the bullpen over the weekend.

The incident occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at a baseball game between Texas A&M – Texarkana and the University of Houston – Victoria at George Dobson Field at Spring Lake Park in Texarkana, Texas, when the unnamed player was struck by a stray bullet from some type of altercation in a nearby neighborhood just west of the baseball field, according to a statement from the Texarkana Texas Police Department.

The baseball player was immediately taken to St. Michael hospital nearby where he underwent surgery for the gunshot wound.

“We initially received several calls of shots fired on Lynda Street, which is in a neighborhood just west of Spring Lake Park. Moments later, we received a 911 call that a baseball player at the park had collapsed and may have been shot,” the Texarkana Texas Police Department said. “We were able to almost immediately determine that the two incidents were related, so as some officers were at the ball field rendering aid to the victim, other officers were on Lynda Street looking for any evidence or witnesses.”

Police officers were able to locate several spent shell casings in the front yard of the residence on Lynda Street and determined that the incident began as a disturbance at that location which eventually led to two men shooting at each other in front of the home when “one of those errant rounds travelled about 400 yards and struck the innocent victim at the ball field.”

The Texarkana Texas Police Department have issued felony warrants for the suspects involved in the shooting and have identified 17-year-old Kamauri Butler and 20-year-old Demarco Banks as those involved. Both Butler and Banks fled the area following the shooting, but officials said that Butler is now wanted for aggravated assault while Banks is wanted for deadly conduct.

“We made arrests of three other men who were [at the home] after detectives obtained a search warrant for the house and several vehicles at the scene,” authorities confirmed. Officers arrested Yankeengea Smith (49) for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon and two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine and Ecstasy pills), Nathan Moore (19) for Tampering with Evidence and Possession of Marijuana, and Marcell Beaver (19) for Possession of Marijuana.”

The baseball player who was shot is currently in stable condition and expected to recover.

“We’ve heard that some people are saying that the suspects were either at Spring Lake Park or driving through there when the victim was shot. That’s simply not the case at all,” police said in a follow up statement regarding the shooting. “The disturbance and shooting all happened on Lynda Street and had nothing to do with the park itself or any event going on there. Tragically, one of the shots that Butler and Banks fired at each other on Lynda Street travelled several hundred feet and struck the unsuspecting victim at the ballpark.”

The baseball game was called off and the Scout-O-Rama event that was happening in another area of the park was also shut down early as a precaution in the immediate aftermath.

Anyone with information about the incident or who know where Kamauri Butler or Demarco Banks can be found is asked to contact Texarkana Area Crime Stoppers at 903-793-STOP.

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