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St. Louis youth football coach shot during practice by parent upset over son's playing time
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- St. Louis youth football coach shot during practice by parent upset over son's playing time
A St. Louis youth football coach is recovering from surgery after being shot four times by a disgruntled parent that was allegedly upset over his son's playing time, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
Authorities said Shaquille Latimore, 30, is in critical, but stable condition after he was gunned down by Daryl Clemmons, 43, at a park in North St. Louis during the team's football practice Tuesday evening. The shooting followed an argument between the two.
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"I didn't see his gun until it was already too late," Latimore, an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the St. Louis BadBoyz, a city recreational league team comprised of children ages 9 and 10, told the St. Louis Dispatch from his hospital bed. "I ran, and he shot me in the back. I fell and he shot me a couple more times."
No one else, including the children that witnessed the shooting, was injured. Clemmons turned himself in to police and faces charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He remains in custody.
General view of a football prior to a game.
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Latimore told police that the confrontation with Clemmons started because he was "upset with (Latimore) for not starting his son," according to a St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office probable cause statement obtained by The Associated Press.
"After every game, he would try to critique me," Latimore said. "After he shot me, was like … 'I told you I was going to pop your (expletive) … I heard people running and screaming."
Latimore was shot in the back, leg, arm and abdomen, with some bullets injuring some of his internal organs. His mother, SeMiko Latimore, told the Dispatch that her son is "thankful to be alive" after the "senseless shooting."
"I'm going to be OK," Latimore said. "It's more psychological than anything else."
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This is the latest incident of harassment and acts of violence toward youth coaches and umpires. In May, a Florida man was arrested for sucker-punching an umpire at his son's baseball game. Last year, a youth softball umpire in Mississippi was punched in the face by a mom.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Youth football coach shot by parent upset over son's playing time
