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WASHINGTON – The game between the San Diego Padres and Washington was put on hold in the sixth inning on Saturday night after police said there had been a shootout outside Nationals Park.
Two people were shot dead, said Dustin Sternbeck, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department. Investigators believe, based on preliminary information, that one of the victims was a stadium employee, he said.
Washington Police subsequently tweeted that “two other victims associated with this incident have visited area hospitals to treat gunshot wounds.”
More than two dozen police cars, ambulances and fire engines were on the street outside the stadium’s third base side, and a police helicopter flew overhead.
The Padres had just taken the pitch for the bottom of the sixth when several loud pops were heard from the left side of the stadium. Players from both teams cleaned up the pitch.
Fans sitting in left field quickly started to come out the center field gate. Soon after, fans on the first base side began to quickly move out of their seats. Some fans crowded into the Padres’ canoe on the side of third base for safety reasons as sirens could be heard from outside the park.
Arman Ramnath, 27, from Arlington, Va., And a recent law school graduate, said he and a friend were sitting on the third base side of the stadium when they heard what sounded like a firework.
“We weren’t sure what it was. Then everyone started dodging,” Ramnath said.
Ramnath said he and his friend ended up hiding behind the seats for five minutes or more. After a while, people started to get up and go, he said, but announcements from the stadium told fans to wait. Finally, they were allowed to leave.
“It was very surreal. I didn’t really know how to react. I mean, you hear about it… but you never expect it to be anything to affect you.”
The Nationals initially announced that there had been an incident outside the stadium and posted a message on the scoreboard telling fans to stay inside the stadium.
About 10 minutes later, the team tweeted: “A shootout has been reported outside the gate of National Park third base. Fans are encouraged to leave the stadium through the CF and RF gates for now. . ”
The Padres were leading 8-4 when the game was interrupted. It will resume on Sunday afternoon, followed by the regular game.
Fernando Tatis Jr. had four hits for San Diego. Ryan Zimmerman scored for Washington.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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