Losing coach fires gun at opposing coach, police say

A 26-year-old basketball coach fired at another coach during a teenage basketball game Saturday afternoon at a Southwest Philadelphia recreation center, police said.

No one was injured in the shooting, which happened shortly before 2 p.m. at the Christy Recreation Center on the 700 block of South 55th Street, sending dozens of players, parents, and onlookers running for cover.

The game was league play for neighborhood 14- to 16-year-old players, said Southwest Lt. John Walker. About 70 people were in the gym, he said.

During the second half of the game, the younger coach's team started losing, and the coach started arguing with members of the crowd, Walker said.

When the opposing coach, a 45-year-old man, tried to intervene, the other man drew a gun from his waistband and fired at him, Walker said.

"By the grace of God, no one was struck by the gunfire," he said. "When the gun went off, everyone ran from the rec center."

The gunman, who lives outside the city, fled from the building and drove away. Walker said police were working with the District Attorney's Office to obtain a warrant for his arrest.

The game "was a good thing happening in the community that day, and fortunately no one was hurt," Walker said.

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