A video shot by a player’s parent shows the children looking around in confusion as the first volley of beatings is heard. Players and coaches fell to the ground for safety, and parents could be heard calling their children. No one was injured in the shooting.
Mayor Keith Summey said his office was offering the reward for information leading to the shooters’ arrest.
“I’m offering a $10,000 reward not for the conviction, but for the arrest of the individuals who were here in this parking lot, fighting and shooting each other while kids were playing ball,” Summey said. “We will not tolerate it.”
An area officer arrived less than a minute after hearing the shots, but the suspects had already left the scene, North Charleston Deputy Police Chief Greg Gomes told a conference call. press Tuesday.
Police found a firearm at the scene and two others which “were dumped near the park. Probably by individuals involved,” Gomes said.
Casings were also recovered from the parking lot and some of the vehicles in the parking lot were hit by gunfire.
Police are testing the weapons to see if they were used in the shooting.
Lori and Blake Ferguson said their son was throwing when the shooting started. Blake Ferguson posted video of the incident on Facebook.
“And then all of a sudden, boom, boom, and ‘Come down, everyone, come down!’ And you are in a park. My children are not directly with me and you see everyone dispersing,” said Lori Ferguson, CNN affiliate, WCSC. “And my son is alone on the pitching mound and that was just the most traumatic thing as a mother, as a citizen of this town, that you felt helpless. I felt completely helpless.”
The shooting had nothing to do with the baseball game or a practice that was taking place in the park, according to the mayor.
“The people who were shooting each other weren’t there to watch a football game,” Summey said. “They came to an isolated area to fight a fight that started somewhere else and ended up shooting each other.”
He said the city would increase its police presence in the community and strengthen law enforcement in an effort to get guns off the streets.
Officials said police will be stationed at baseball diamonds when activities are taking place.
North Charleston police are also investigating another shooting that occurred early Tuesday morning about a half-mile from the park, but said they don’t know if the two incidents were related. No one was injured in this shooting.
CNN’s Theresa Waldrop contributed to this report.
