Upset parent shoots son’s youth football coach in front of team, Missouri police say
A volunteer youth football coach was shot by a parent in front of his team of children, according to Missouri police and news reports.
Now the parent, 43-year-old Daryl Clemmons, reportedly faces assault charges following the Tuesday, Oct. 10, shooting at Sherman Park in St. Louis.
Police said Clemons was upset the coach, Shaquille Latimore, was not starting his son, according to the Riverfront Times and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Clemons “asked him what’s up,” then pulled a gun out and fired multiple shots toward the coach, police said, according to a probable cause statement obtained by the Riverfront Times.
“We all shot up the hill to see what’s going on and we saw a man shot multiple times in the stomach,” Dorian Artis told KSDK. “I was one of them who said let’s get him out of here. Another woman, who’s a nurse, started tending to his bleeding wounds.”
Latimore told the Post-Dispatch that Clemons shot him in the back, and he was shot again when he fell to the ground.
Alderwoman Sharon Tyus called the incident “very unfortunate,” according to KMOV.
“For someone to take out a gun and to lose their cool, it easily could’ve been something more tragic,” Tyus told the outlet.
Latimore reportedly underwent surgery at a hospital and is now recovering. In a Facebook post Wednesday, he thanked his loved ones for their prayers.
“I just hope he pulls through because the kids need him,” Artis told KSDK.
The coach’s mother, SeMiko Latimore, told the Post-Dispatch her son is “thankful to be alive.”
“It’s senseless,” she told the publication. “We’re supposed to be bringing these kids off the streets and teaching them what to do, what not to do. We’ve got all these kids traumatized because their coach was shot in front of them.”
Police said Clemons turned himself in after the shooting, KSDK reported. He was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Upset parent shoots son’s youth football coach in front of team, Missouri police say."