When a youth baseball coach near Houston was praying on the field, gunshots erupted – sending him to the hospital. The sheriff’s office arrested three suspects, who were firing from a nearby field. 

A coach was praying with his team before a baseball game in Katy, just outside Houston, on September 21, according to KHOU, when bullets started flying – striking the coach, who shielded the kids around him. 

The Waller County Sheriff’s Office arrested 23-year-old Mahmood Abdelsalam Rababah, 21-year-old Ahmad Mawed, and 27-year-old Mustafa Mohammad Matalgah for the shooting. They are each facing a felony charge of deadly conduct by discharge of a firearm and a $100,000 bond. They allegedly fired from a nearby pasture.

The Shooting

Families had gathered at The Rac Katy baseball complex for a tournament. Kristan Eaton attended the game and told The Dallas Express that families could hear shooting in the distance. They thought someone must have been dove hunting.

Coaches were meeting with kids before the game when bullets ripped across the baseball field, according to Eaton. She said she was on a different field at the time.

“The shots went from what sounded like shotguns to sounding like an automatic weapon,” she said. “Then everyone started yelling ‘get down.’”

Footage captured the moment rapid gunshots rang out, as players began running from the field.

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Eaton had her boys get down behind a brick wall on the field, she said.

“You could not see the suspects at all, but the gunfire did continue, but slowed down as they could probably hear all the screaming and commotion,” Eaton said. “Then it stopped altogether with the police sirens.”

Waller County deputies responded to the field around 9:45 a.m.

“The investigation revealed that three suspects discharged firearms from a nearby pasture, in the direction of the field while a youth baseball event was taking place,” the sheriff’s office posted.

The gunfire struck a man in the upper arm, and he went to Memorial Hermann Hospital in downtown Houston for treatment, according to the sheriff’s office. He was later released.  

Seeking Answers

Police allegedly responded to the field earlier, when a vehicle’s window was shot out around 8:15 a.m., according to Eaton.

“They came out and did nothing,” she said. “Then 45 minutes later the shots started up again, and that’s when the stray bullets started flying.”

Eaton said her son’s team practices at the field, alongside many others. She called it “odd” that the shooter apparently had an automatic-sounding rifle – “We don’t hear this type of shooting.” 

The suspects may have been trespassing, according to Eaton, because the baseball fields are surrounded by private property.

“I’m hoping that they are charged with more than just the charges now,” she said. 

Mawed and Matalgah were still in the Waller County Jail at the time of publication, facing charges of deadly conduct by discharge of a firearm and $100,000 bonds each, according to jail records. But Rababah was apparently not listed on the inmate roster.

The Dallas Express asked the Waller County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s Office if Rababah was out on bond, but did not hear back in time for publication.

The Rac baseball complex in Katy posted to Facebook, claiming the incident was a “tragic accident.” Hours after the shooting, staff said police were responding to an injury from “recreational shooting” and “possible illegal hunting.”

“The safety and well-being of our players, families, coaches, staff, and community is our top priority,” the staff posted. The complex launched its own “internal investigation.”

The shooting quickly gained national attention. The account LibsOfTikTok posted about the crime, which had racked up more than 3.7 million views by the time of publication.

Amy Mek, founder of the radical Islam watchdog Rise Align Ignite Reclaim Foundation (RAIR), suggested the shooters could have been extremists.

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) also expressed concern about the incident. “Texas must get serious about the attack on the West,” Roy posted on X. “It’s real. And it’s right here.” 

Eaton expressed bewilderment that this shooting happened in the “small little suburban town” of Katy.

“I didn’t expect the story to be this big or to blow up like this,” she said. “It’s crazy.”