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Photo by The Wilson Times A Honda Odyssey van is vacuumed after gunfire shattered its back window at the Gillette Athletic Complex in Wilson, NC.
Franklin’s All-Star Little League baseball team was on the field when shots were fired at the Gillette Athletic Complex in Wilson on Sunday morning, July 10.
“It was a shock to everyone,” said Scott Manshack, one of the team’s coaches. The team was in the bottom of the fifth inning getting ready to bat when they heard gunfire.
“[It’s] something that you wish you never have to go through, let alone eight and nine-year-olds,” Manshack said. “We heard someone yell ‘get down’ and that there was an active shooter.”
The coach said his priority was to get his son and the team to safety. “The other coaches and myself ran the team to a nearby tobacco field that was abut 100 yards away. We just acted as quick as we possibly could.”
He said the players and adults were shocked and afraid. “Everybody was scared for their life because we didn’t know if there was somebody on the property shooting, or really what was going on. We just acted as quick as possible to get those kids to safety.”
Once he knew his son was safe with one of the other coaches, he ran back to look for his wife and daughters. “At that time, I saw people hiding in concession stands, underneath bleachers.” He was able to reach his wife by phone, and she and their daughters were hiding in a bathroom facility on the property.
Manshack said the team waited in the tobacco field until the authorities arrived and told them it was safe to go back. “I thought the police did a pretty good job of getting there as fast as possible. I would say within 10 to 15 minutes they were on the scene. Several police cars – local PD and state troopers – were on the scene.”
Each team gathered with the players’ parents and waited for officers to come talk to them as they collected information about what happened.
Manshack said they did not see the shooter or any of the shots fired, but his family’s vehicle was parked next to a van in the parking lot that had the back glass shot out. Someone told them bullets grazed the field next to them and one of the umpires said the bullets were right over his head.
“It was way too close of a call for any of us,” he said.
The games were postponed for the remainder of the day. Several teams, including Franklin, withdrew from the tournament following the shooting. “As shocked and frantic as most of us were, our team elected to head back home,” Manshack said.
The tournament director initially said games would resume on Monday, but it has since been canceled.
“It’s a shame for the kids because they’ve worked tremendously hard to prepare for it, and I’m sure every team that advanced to the state tournament is in the same boat that we are with all the hard work and effort put in,” Manshack said. “It’s a shame that something like this had to happen, and I hope teams and players can move forward from it and remember the good things that happened in that tournament leading up to that.”
Manshack said they were blessed that no one was injured. “I’m just glad everybody reacted the way they did. I thank all the parents and coaches for getting the kids to safety, and I think the Lord was watching us, because as [good] as it is that no one got hurt, somebody could have gotten killed, and we’re very fortunate that didn’t happen.”
- By Will Woolever and Mia Overton/The Franklin Press