Stray bullet strikes college baseball player during game, Texas police say
A college baseball player was hit by a stray bullet during a game in Texas on Saturday, authorities and school officials said. The 18-year-old student at the Texas A&M University-Texarkana, whose name was not released, underwent surgery for his injuries and was in stable condition, the university said.
The bullet that struck the athlete apparently came from a shooting nearby, Texarkana Texas Police said in a statement.
"It appears that he [was] struck by a stray bullet from some type of altercation in a nearby neighborhood to the west of the park," the statement, posted to Facebook on Saturday evening, read. "He was taken to St. Michael Hospital , where he is headed into surgery now."
The baseball player was standing in the bullpen area of the university's George Dobson Field in Spring Lake Park when the shooting happened, at around 5:30 p.m. The game between Texas A&M-Texarkana and University of Houston-Victoria, was called shortly after the incident, with the Red River Athletic Conference declaring a "no contest". A scouting event taking place in another part of the same park was cancelled early as a precaution, police said.
"The university's counseling services are available to players and other students," Texas A&M-Texarkana wrote in a separate statement after the shooting. "At this time we ask that you keep our student athlete, his family, teammates and friends in your prayers."
School officials also decided to cancel a doubleheader that the softball team was meant to play on Sunday against Louisiana State University of Alexandria, the university's athletic department announced. The decision was made "due to the events surrounding yesterday's baseball game," the department said.
Additional details about the shooting near George Dobson Field, and updates about the injured player's condition, were not immediately available on Monday morning. CBS News contacted Texas A&M University Texarkana for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
