Baseball player shot as result of off-site altercation
A&M Texarkana baseball game ruled no contest after player shot
Photo by Kailyn Williams
Texas A&M University at Texarkana baseball team’s game ended in a “no contest” after a player was shot while in the bullpen Saturday, April 29. Suspects have since been apprehended and the player is in recovery.
May 1, 2023
The pitch is thrown, and the familiar sound of bat against ball rings out at George Dobson Field at Spring Lake Park Saturday, April 29, 2023.
When a player dropped in the Texas A&M Texarkana baseball team’s bullpen, it became evident that it wasn’t the sweet sound of the barrel of a bat, but the terrifying sound of the barrel of a gun.
“[In the moment] I was just shocked,” junior TAMUT baseball player Hunter Reid said. “That’s all I felt, shock.”
After finally realizing that the noise they were hearing were gunshots, on-lookers noticed the events unfolding right out in left field.
“We heard a commotion down in the bullpen, then our third base coach went running,” TAMUT pitching coach Brian Baisch said. “I was in the front of the dugout and when I saw everyone heading to the bullpen I immediately followed. That’s when I saw Matthew [Delany] laying on the ground.”
Police say that after two men, Kamauri Butler (17) and Demarco Banks (20) fired shots at each other, a bullet traveled some 400 yards to the nearby baseball field, striking a baseball player in the left field bullpen.
“The shots came from a neighborhood to the west of Spring Lake Park and was the result of some type of disturbance that happened there,” said TTPD Public Information Officer Shawn Vaughn in an interview with KTAL news. “The bullet traveled several hundred feet and struck the victim as he was standing near the bullpen area of the ball field in the park. He was not targeted nor was the shooting related to any activity going on in the park. It was a terrible incident where he was standing at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Of the two shooters, Banks turned himself in overnight, May first, though Butler remains at large.
Banks is facing the charge of Deadly Conduct, and Butler has a warrant out for his arrest on the charge of Aggravated Assault.
The police arrested three men at the scene of the shooting after an altercation in a neighborhood on Lynda Street.
Option High class of 2022 graduates Nathan Moore (19) and Marcell Beaver (19) were among the suspects arrested.
Beaver faces charges of Possession of Marijuana, while Moore got booked for Tampering With Evidence and Possession of Marijuana.
Police arrested the third man, Yakneegea Smith (49), for a count of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon accompanied with two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance: methamphetamines and ecstasy pills.
After the shooting, officials transported Delaney to St. Michael’s hospital. Now, his condition is improving substantially after complaints of leg numbness have subsided.
“He was conscious, a little out of it, just complaining that he couldn’t feel his left leg and that he had trouble breathing,” Baisch said. “But he’s doing wonderful now. A lot of our coaches and players have been to visit him, and a lot of them think he could walk out right now.”
The game ended in a “no contest” ruling by the Red River Athletic Conference.
