Houston youth baseball coach shot during pregame prayer with players; 3 suspects in custody

Three suspects have been charged after a Houston youth baseball coach was wounded in a shooting during a pregame prayer with players on Sunday.

Mahmood Abdelsalam Rababah, 23, Ahmad Mawed, 21, and Mustafa Mohammad Matalgah, 27, were arrested on felony charges of deadly conduct with a firearm, the Waller County Sheriff’s Office said. They were each being held on $100,000 bond. 

The chaos unfolded at Ameripark youth baseball field, known as The Rac, in the town of Katy, after three people fired weapons from a nearby pasture in the direction of the field as a youth baseball event was ongoing, the sheriff’s office said. 

Video of the incident showed the 12-year-old Texas Colts players in light blue jerseys running frantically for cover as bullets flew past them. One adult appeared to be struck and fell to the ground near home plate.

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The shooting victim was a baseball coach, owners of The Rac Katy said in a statement. He was struck in the shoulder in an incident “involving recreational shooting on a nearby property,” the statement said.

The coach was given medical treatment on the baseball field before being taken to a hospital, officials said. He was released from the hospital later that day.

Officials confirmed to FOX26 Houston that the coach was a 27-year-old man.

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Houston Warriors founder Andy Baize told KHOU-TV that after the coach was shot during a pregame prayer with his team, the wounded man’s first reaction was to protect the children.

“He literally took the bullet for a child that was to his left, and so thankfully we avoided a major disaster,” Baize said. “Still very, very emotional over it.”

One mother, who spoke anonymously to FOX26, said she has safety concerns following the shooting.

“I can assure you we will not be going back to The Rac Katy, probably not The Rac Waller either, but we actually had a meeting with all the boys individually, all the parents did, and overwhelmingly, consensus was, ‘I don’t want to go back to that place. That’s where guns are.’ So we will not be going back there,” she said.

The Rac said in a statement following the arrests that it would take extra security precautions during certain events.

“In addition to the efforts of local law enforcement, we have implemented enhanced security measures for all tournament weekends,” the statement said. “We look forward to welcoming back our players, coaches, and families, with their safety and peace of mind at the forefront.”

Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.