A woman attending Tuesday night’s St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium was grazed by a bullet as she sat in her seat near the Cardinal dugout, authorities say.
Police report that the victim was suddenly taken with a sharp pain in her arm as she sat watching the game. After inspecting her arm, she found an abrasion and growing bruise near her elbow. A bullet was then found lying on the ground beneath her seat, Fox 2 reported.
The wounded fan went to the stadium’s first aid station and police were called after she related her story.
The 34-year-old woman refused transportation to a hospital, saying the wound was superficial.
Police surmise that the bullet had been fired outside the stadium, likely up into the air. The bullet’s trajectory eventually caused it to fall back to earth and wholly by chance hit the fan sitting inside the stadium.
The Cardinals released a statement about the incident:
We are aware of an incident last night in which a fan reported being struck by a stray bullet that presumably originated from outside of the stadium. The fan was treated for an abrasion and a bruise on her arm at First Aid and released. She was interviewed by police who are investigating the matter. There is nothing more important than the safety of our fans, and the Cardinals are grateful that no one was seriously injured. We will be sharing more information with the media as further details emerge.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department released a statement pushing its safety program saying, “This further amplifies our yearly message of encouraging ‘Fun Without Guns.’ We know ‘what goes up must come down,’ and in this case, an innocent victim was struck. The department constantly stresses the importance of safety and responsible gun ownership.”
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, police had been dispatched near the stadium to 14th Street and Chouteau Avenue on a call of shots fired. Authorities think the woman may have been hit during this incident.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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