Players from both the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres were seen helping family and friends into the dugout after gunshots were heard outside the Nationals Park in the nation’s capital Saturday night.
Video footage on Twitter showed Padres players Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis, and Wil Myers lifting spectators from the stands on the third-base side of the field. The players and spectators were then seen running from the stands into the dugout for cover. The announcer on the video is heard saying the camera operators were “noticed to leave.”
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“Players, including Fernando Tatis Jr. Just ran into stands and grabbed family members and brought them to clubhouse,” Padres beat writer Kevin Acee tweeted.
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A reporter from the Washington Post tweeted that fans from two sections were invited into the dugout by players from the Padres.
“Here at Nats Park as fans are making their way out of the stadium. Talked to a fan who said the spectators in section 112-113 ducked down when they heard gunshots and everyone followed suit,” the tweet said. “Tatis and Machado opened the gate to the field and took fans to the dugout.”
The Post reported on the Padres players seen bringing family members and fans into the dugout.
Tatis and Padres teammates Manny Machado, Wil Myers and Jurickson Profar pulled family members and fans out of the stands to find safety in their dugout, where at least 50 people gathered, Hann said. Video posted online showed Patrick Corbin, the left-handed pitcher who started the game for the Nationals, roaming the concourse, his uniform untucked, while talking on the phone. People speed-walked by him without stopping.
Ann Plaza, a fan from McLean, said her group went on the field and through the Nationals’ dugout before ending up in the clubhouse near Manager Dave Martinez’s office.
“He was there, checking on everyone,” Plaza said of Martinez. “A security guard came and asked if we were family. He said, ‘Yes, they are family — they’re our fans.’ The guard then asked if we were players’ family, and then he said no. They then ushered us into the area right outside, and we hung out there until it was safe to leave.”
According to the Associated Press, the Saturday night game was suspended in the sixth inning following the shooting outside the stadium. The report added:
The shooting, an exchange of gunfire between people in two cars, left three people injured, according to Ashan Benedict, the Metropolitan Police Department’s executive assistant police chief. One of the people who was shot was a woman who was attending the game and who was struck while she was outside the stadium, he said. Her injuries weren’t considered life-threatening.
Two people who were in one of the cars later walked into a local hospital with gunshot wounds and were being questioned by investigators, Benedict said, and the extent of their injuries wasn’t immediately clear. Investigators were still trying to locate the second vehicle involved in the shooting.
On Sunday morning, the official Twitter account for the Nationals tweeted echoed the words from Martinez reported by the Post. “Davey Martinez said it best—our fans are our family. Thank you,” the tweet said.