WILSON, N.C. — A Little League baseball tournament in Wilson, North Carolina, was interrupted by gunshots over the weekend, police said.
Several teams at the tournament were from the Charlotte area.
“You heard that noise, that noise…a noise you’ll never forget," Steve Treffiletti, head coach of 8-U Lake Norman, said. His team was on the field when shots were fired.
Wilson police searched the grounds of the J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex after players, coaches and officials dove to the ground and ducked for cover during the incident.
“Rush across the field in a little storage area, where a lot of people had found their way into," Treffiletti said. "Inside there, a lot of them grabbed arms and hugged. A gentleman, I wish I knew who it was, led everyone in prayer."
Worried parents called for the arrest of the person who pulled the trigger.
Treffiletti said the act of people protecting each other during the incident was powerful.
“Guys grabbing kids that weren’t their own, kids from other teams, different uniforms, different people, putting them in cars, diving underneath cars, doing whatever we could to protect these kids," Treffiletti said.
Investigators told WRAL-TV in Raleigh they haven't turned up any evidence that the players or spectators were intentionally targeted, but parents who were in the stands disagree.
"The bullets hit the ground next to my son, and the other players, his teammates," one parent who did not want to give his name said. "That person was shooting at those kids."
Treffiletti said they are grateful to walk away from the incident physically unharmed, as many other people who go through similar situations, don't.
“I’m sorry, but when three bullets go whizzing by the heads of children, 10 and under and land within feet of killing them, this is an active shooter and our fears are not misplaced, this is gun violence in America, this is what it looks like," Stephanie, parent to a Weddington player, said.
The Wilson Police Department is asking anyone with information to contact detectives at 252-399-2323. Witnesses may also call the Wilson Crime Stoppers tip line at 252-243-2255.
"You see stories on the news all the time, and you've seen pictures where everybody drops everything and just runs," Lindsey Stephenson said. "To see it firsthand today, it's something I will never, ever forget or get over."
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