Three suspects have been charged after a Houston youth baseball coach was wounded in a shooting during a pregame prayer with players on Sunday.
Mahmood Abdelsalam Rababah, 23, Ahmad Mawed, 21, and Mustafa Mohammad Matalgah, 27, were apprehended on felony charges of deadly conduct involving a firearm, as stated by the Waller County Sheriff’s Office. Each of them was detained on a $100,000 bond.
The commotion erupted at Ameripark youth baseball field, also known as The Rac in Katy, when three individuals fired guns from a neighboring pasture towards the field during a youth baseball event, according to the sheriff’s office.
Footage of the event displayed the 12-year-old Texas Colts players in light blue jerseys frantically seeking cover as bullets whizzed by them. An adult seemed to have been hit and collapsed near home plate.
Houston Warriors founder Andy Baize shared with KHOU-TV that after the coach was shot while in a pregame prayer with his team, his initial response was to shield the children.
“He literally took the bullet for a child that was to his left, and so thankfully we avoided a major disaster,” Baize remarked. “Still very, very emotional over it.”
The Rac baseball complex in Katy, Texas, depicted in September 2025. The owners of The Rac acknowledged that a baseball coach sustained injuries during a shooting incident. (FOX26 Houston KRIV)
One mother, who spoke anonymously to FOX26, said she has safety concerns following the shooting.
“I can assure you we will not be going back to The Rac Katy, probably not The Rac Waller either, but we actually had a meeting with all the boys individually, all the parents did, and overwhelmingly, consensus was, ‘I don’t want to go back to that place. That’s where guns are.’ So we will not be going back there,” she said.
The Rac said in a statement following the arrests that it would take extra security precautions during certain events.
“In addition to the efforts of local law enforcement, we have implemented enhanced security measures for all tournament weekends,” the statement said. “We look forward to welcoming back our players, coaches, and families, with their safety and peace of mind at the forefront.”
