Padres-Nacionales are suspended for taking pictures outside the park

The San Diego Padres game at Washington Nationals Stadium on Saturday was called off in the sixth inning after the home team reported shooting outside the stadium.

Shots reverberated within the park, prompting many fans to invade the bunker in search of protection.

The shooting between two people in two cars resulted in three injuries, according to Ashan Benedict, deputy chief of the metropolitan police. Benedict stated that one of the injured was a woman who attended the match and was injured in front of the stadium.

Injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Later, Benedict said, two people traveling in one of the vehicles were taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds, and were interrogated by investigators. The severity of his injuries was not immediately known.

Investigators are still searching for the second vehicle involved in the shooting.

The sound of gunfire caused panic among the fans inside the stadium. Some fled to seek shelter, others threw themselves under tables or behind armchairs, while the building’s loudspeakers told people to stay inside.

“It was a chaotic scene,” Chief Referee Mark Carlson told The Associated Press. “We heard what sounded like gunshots. We didn’t know where they came from.”

Padres had just entered the field to compete at the bottom of the sixth inning when several explosions were heard from the left side of the case.

The fans who were seated behind the left field began to walk through the central forest gate. Soon, the spectators on the starting side left their seats.

Some fans crowded Padres Cave, to the side of the antechamber, seeking shelter. I heard the sirens from inside the stadium.

Ted Bornstein, 26, came to the game with his girlfriend who was celebrating her birthday and with his best friend. He said the three were “having a good time” when they heard two explosions.

He said his first impression was that he was rehearsing for a fireworks display. But he later realized that it was dangerous, when people in the stands began to flee.

Then Fernando Tates Jr., Padres’ short star, “came off the field like a thunderbolt.”

In the stadium’s Diamond Club, where Bornstein and his friends were chatting, people hid under tables and chairs, thinking that there was an armed assailant inside the park.

“People threw themselves on the ground and froze. Some tried to calm the children,” he added. “I was surprised and scared.”

Citizens initially announced that an incident occurred outside the park. They displayed on the electronic screen a message asking spectators to stay inside.

About 10 minutes later, the team tweeted: “Fire reported outside the third base gate in Nationals Park. Fans are urged to exit the park through Central Square and Right Square Gates this time.”

There were about thirty policemen, vehicles, ambulances and firetrucks on the street near Nationals Park, to the side of the waiting room. A helicopter flew over the stadium.

The shooting comes as Washington, like many other cities in the United States, faces a growing number of violent crimes, including murders. A 6-year-old girl was killed and five people were injured Friday night during a shooting three miles (five kilometers) from Nationals Park.

Arman Ramnath, 27, of nearby Arlington, Virginia, said he was sitting with a friend on the third side of the field when they heard what sounded like fireworks.

“We weren’t sure what it was. Then everyone started stooping,” Ramnath said.

Padres was leading 8-4 when play stopped. And it resumes on Sunday afternoon, followed by the match that was scheduled for Sunday.

Tates got four hits for San Diego. Ryan Zimmerman has had great success in Washington.

Tates tweeted: “I hope everyone is well!”