KATY, Texas – What should have been a weekend of baseball turned into a nightmare for dozens of families when gunfire rang out at The Rac in Katy Sunday morning.
One coach was struck in the shoulder and is recovering.
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Video obtained by KPRC 2 shows young players and coaches running, screaming, and ducking for cover as several rounds of gunfire erupt.
Kelly Bierman was in the stands as her 11-year-old son, Colton, was walking onto the mound to pitch for the Texas Colts, a newly formed team in the Humble–Atascocita area.
“I just remember that fear of not knowing where my child was, and it’s the worst feeling you could ever imagine,” said Bierman. “It wasn’t exactly a great first outing, and I pray that all the kids come back.”
Colton told KPRC 2 his immediate reaction was to hide.
“I just get behind this pole kind of like in a corner. I just hide there, and then my mom is saying my name, like, ‘Colton, are you OK?‘" said Colton. “I have to legit bear crawl to my mom on my arms and get to her without my head coming over the brick wall."
Texas Colts coaches Alex Smith and Corbin Geisendorf said they knew immediately what they were hearing.
“We grew up around guns, so we knew immediately what we were hearing,” said Smith. “You never imagine ending up in a situation, especially on a baseball field with 12 little boys, which it’s hard for me to talk about right now, because their faces, I’ll never forget looking at them."
Geisendorf said the coaches’ first instinct was to shield their players.
“Our first thing was to get these kids to safety as soon as possible,” said Geisendorf.
The coaches said they heard faint shots during Saturday’s games as well, but by Sunday morning, the rounds were far too close for comfort.
Deputies with the Waller County Sheriff’s Office said the first call came in at 9:50 a.m. as a firearms complaint. Minutes later, the situation escalated into a shooting call.
A 27-year-old coach on an adjacent field was struck in the shoulder after a bullet ricocheted off a pole, according to several witnesses on scene. He was flown by Life Flight and is in stable condition.
“I went over there just to say a prayer over him,” Geisendorf said. “He was definitely in shock, but the people around him did a really good job stopping the bleeding until help arrived.”
The Rac in Katy released the following statement:
Parents now say they’ll be far more cautious about where their children play.
“We need to look at where these fields are built,” Bierman said. “You can buy land outside of Houston, but if it’s in a known hunting area, it’s not safe for kids.”
Last Sunday, a man was shot at a soccer game in Aldine, where authorities say people were target shooting at a nearby property.
In the incident in Katy, three people were questioned, but no one was taken into custody. Authorities don’t believe this was a targeted shooting.
“It’s heartbreaking that now we have to talk to our children about what to do if this happens again,” said Bierman.