NORFOLK, Va. — Shortly after the first inning of the doubleheader between the Norfolk Tides and the Memphis Redbirds at the Tennessee stadium Wednesday night, fans and players got word they needed to go into lockdown due to an active shooter threat not far from the ballpark.
Norfolk Tides broadcaster, Pete Michaud, said he started to notice something unusual at Wednesday night's game when stadium workers entered the field with their phones in their hands and called the players off the field.
You can hear Michaud on the MiLB TV recording, saying, "Players are being ushered off the field...we're told a pretty dangerous situation in here in downtown Memphis."
Michaud said he later learned it was a bigger situation than he had originally thought.
"The member of the Memphis staff, he seemed to indicate one of the initial reports said it was relatively nearby," said Michaud in an interview Thursday.
Later on MiLB TV, you can hear a stadium official with a microphone telling the fans, "We ask you to please make your way to the club level...there's an active shooter in Memphis."
Memphis police confirmed the shooter, 19-year-old Ezekial Kelly, went out on an hours-long series of random attacks. Four people died in the shootings and three others got hurt.
Officers said Kelly filmed it all in a live stream on his phone and his motive is still unclear.
Memphis police said Kelly recently got out of prison this year on a conviction, calling him a "violent felon."
Michaud said everyone rushed into more concealed places in the stadium, where they waited to learn more about a shooter randomly attacking Memphis citizens. He said his booth has a large window facing the field, so he quickly backed away to his own safe space.
"At that point, we turned off the lights in the press box, the lights in the ballpark, so it was very dark and very quiet," said Michaud. "We basically just sat and waited. That was about a little over an hour and a half or so and at that point, I had the opportunity to get on my cellphone and see the news stories from that area and that point, nothing had happened yet."
Michaud said during the hours on lockdown, it was unclear exactly what was happening in the city. He realized later on how dire the situation had become.
He said he feels grateful no one at the stadium got hurt, but he knows so many other people didn't have the same outcome.
"Certainly, hoping to never have to even talk about a situation like this. It would never cross my mind, but unfortunately, it's the world we live in," said Michaud.
Michaud said the stadium workers handled the situation smoothly to keep everyone safe.
The Norfolk Tides played a doubleheader against the Memphis Redbirds Thursday night.