Little League Shooting Cancels Games, Triggers Investigation

A Little League baseball shooting has probably ended the season for the North Vallejo Little League, but what happens next could depend upon the actions of parents who attend an emergency meeting at 11 AM on Saturday at North Vallejo’s Thurman Field.

On Friday, the northern California area North Vallejo Little League announced that they had decided to suspend all remaining games in the season as a result of a shooting incident outside a Wednesday night game. There are around 200 children in the league, and at least a dozen games will be cancelled. The league is currently in its 49th season.

According to Vallejo Police Lt. Kenny Park, the non-injury shooting took place in the parking lot outside the game. Apparently, two parents were involved in an unknown altercation, and one man fired into the car of the other man. The victim wasn’t hit, and he drove away from the scene.

To date, there hasn’t been an arrest, and it’s unclear if the police knew at first who was involved in the shooting. Park told the San Francisco Chronicle that they were looking into the possibility that one or both of the men was a parent of a child at the game.

However, an ABC report said that there was definitely at least one unnamed parent involved and that police are now seeking the man.

North Vallejo Little League vice president Calvin Wells told ABC that he hated to cancel the rest of the season but that it was better to lose a season than a child. He also noted that there had been other reports of shootings near the field before and after the Wednesday night parking lot Little League baseball shooting incident.

The team’s Facebook page is asking concerned adults to attend the meeting to figure out their next move:

“All parents, managers, coaches, and volunteer staff, Please come out and contribute your ideas for moving forward, and the safety of our children. Thanks for your support.”

As one poster noted on that page:

“Please get it together for your community the kids want to play and the families that can control their anger want to enjoy supporting North Vallejo Little League.”

It would be a sad day for the children if the Little League baseball shooting shut down the game forever.

[little league baseball photo by justasc via Shutterstock]