12-year-old girl fatally shot in park where youth football match was being played

BALTIMORE– A 12-year-old girl was killed when she was caught in the crossfire between two men who were apparently arguing over a parking space in a Baltimore park where a youth football game was being played, police said.

Officers responded to Leon Day Park at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, where the girl and a woman were found with gunshot wounds. Two men also went to area hospitals for treatment, Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said at a news conference.

The girl was pronounced dead at the hospital. All three adults suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, Worley said.

Two men involved in an argument that allegedly took place over a parking space began shooting at each other, and the girl and woman were struck by bullets, Worley said. He said police were looking for “at least” two suspects.

Worley said the girl was not a direct target of the shooting.

“What we do know is that there was some sort of argument between two cowards,” Worley said. “They both opened fire on each other. In the crossfire, a 12-year-old little girl, who was probably there watching football, was shot and killed.”

Police were still monitoring the scene in the sprawling park, and Worley said it was not immediately clear how many shots were fired. He urged anyone who witnessed the shooting to contact police.

“Two grown men got into an argument, and now a 12-year-old child is gone,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said at the news conference. “We should never have to say something like that. What happened here today is one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen in my life.”