CONSTANTINE, Mich. — Police are investigating a shooting near one of the Little League ball fields in Constantine.
"It happened actually on the Eastern portion of the little league complex," said Constantine Police Department's Chief of Police Mark Honeysett.
Chief Honeysett said it happened around 8 p.m. Wednesday near the Constantine Little League fields at Meadow Lane and S. Washington near the U.S.-131 business route.
"The girls softball game had just finished from what I understand, and the boys little league was very near its completion," said Chief Honeysett.
Officers arrived to find a 38-year-old Cassopolis man with multiple gunshot injuries and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Police tell FOX 17 the man is in stable condition.
"They got there and learned that one gentleman had been struck four times with rounds. At first, the officers on the scene were pretty frightened for his health, but apparently he wasn’t injured as bad as they originally thought," said Chief Honeysett.
Fox 17 spoke with a mother who was at the game with her son and two daughters, and while she declined to speak on camera, she said she felt helpless and scared after hearing multiple gunshots.
Constantine Police are still holding back some details as they continue to investigate and would not say if they knew what the altercation between the two males was about.
"I know that the gentleman who was hurt was there watching his daughter play softball. I couldn’t tell you about the others," said Chief Honeysett.
Police said two ballgames were going on at the time of the incident but were nearly finished. A bystander said there were over 100 people there at the time.
None of the ballplayers and spectators were injured during the incident.
Constantine Public Schools said counselors were made available to students on Thursday.
Nick Godfrey, president of the Constantine Little League, also released a statement following the shooting.
"Our purpose as a Little League is and will always be to provide a place for kids to have fun and grow in a sport they love, and no amount of evil in this world will ever change that, Godfrey said. "Constantine is an amazing community full of strong, resilient people that stand up to adversity and get stronger in the face of it."
You can read his entire message below:
No games will be played on Thursday as the investigation continues.
