Shots Fired During Youth Football Game in Upstate New York (Video)

Coach of Youth Football Shot During Game

What started as a seemingly innocent video of young boys playing youth football took a terrifying turn for the worse on Sunday in the western portion of Upstate New York.

According to sources, Rell Lawhorn, the head coach of the Flower City Panthers, a travel youth football team based out of Rochester, was shot in Buffalo while the suspect was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping.

What Triggered the Gunman?

Buffalo Police said before the shooting, the suspect, 29-year-old Rashaan Mallory, forced a woman into his car at gunpoint and told her to drive to the football game. Once Mallory got to the field, sources say that he had words with the Rochester coach, and then a violent and terrifying altercation ensued.

“The allegation is that he ordered (the coach) to give up his chain. Some verbal interaction occurred between both. The information was provided to us that the suspect attempted to fire his gun, and it’s believed that it misfired,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said Monday during a press conference.

According to the report, the victim turned around to walk away, and at that point, the suspect was successfully able to fire multiple rounds from his handgun.”

Flower City Panthers President Phil Daniel told WROC Monday that coach Rell Lawhorn is recovering and “doing okay.”

Video Shows Moment Shots Were Fired

*The following video contains language and images that could be triggering and unsuitable for some viewers. 

The video starts innocently enough, as kids run around and make tackles. But after a few seconds, chaos ensues, and a woman is heard yelling, "They're shooting!"

You can see players ducking and running for cover while one young boy screams for his father.  Thankfully, brave parents corraled the youngsters and adhered to all protocols to keep the kids safe.