Tonight's game between the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres was abruptly suspended during the middle of the sixth inning when gunfire rang out outside Nationals Park resulting in injuries to four people and causing widespread panic inside the stadium as fans were told to remain inside. Some fans took cover in both the Nationals and Padres dugouts. (UPDATE: Padres' players Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis, Jr. and Will Myers have been praised for opening the gates so fans could get to safety.) There's no word if suspects have been apprehended. The game is scheduled to resume tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 p.m. which will be followed by the third game of the series as if nothing happened.
There is a certain feeling of resignation that nothing will happen as a result of this incident. After all, scarcely six months ago there was an attack on the U.S. Capitol just over a mile away and the Republican Party would have us believe those who stormed the Capitol was "a normal tourist visit." If Republicans are unwilling to keep their own staff safe why would they give a damn about anyone else?
Now while I'm generally skeptical about the effectiveness of most gun laws given that most firearms deaths come by way of suicide than homicide and gun deaths were at a higher per capita rate in the 1970's than they are now. Nevertheless given the settings where gun violence has occurred (this time during a game outside a sports stadium) I do think the time has come for something ought to be done to prevent this from happening. We can reasonably what that something is but if people aren't confident they can go to the ballpark, the movies or to their house of worship safely without either fear of being shot or getting COVID-19 then action is required. But if the House can't get its house in order nothing else will find order either. We will be asked to play ball, move on and be told there's nothing to see.
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