Youth Football Coach Shot During Practice By Parent Upset Over Son’s Playing Time

A St. Louis youth football coach is recovering from surgery after being shot multiple times by a disgruntled parent who was allegedly upset over his son’s playing time, according to USA TODAY Sports.

Shaquille Latimore was shot four times at a park in North St. Louis during a team football practice by Daryl Clemmons, reportedly after an argument between the two.

“I didn’t see his gun until it was already too late,” Latimore, an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the St. Louis BadBoyz, a city recreational league team comprised of children ages 9 and 10, told the St. Louis Dispatch from his hospital bed. “I ran, and he shot me in the back. I fell, and he shot me a couple more times.”

No one else was hurt, including the children who witnessed the incident. Clemmons surrendered to police and is now facing charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He is still in police custody.

According to a probable cause obtained by The Associated Press from the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, Latimore told officers that the dispute with Clemmons began because he was “upset with (Latimore) for not starting his son.”

“After every game, he would try to critique me,” Latimore said. “After he shot me, was like … ‘I told you I was going to pop your (expletive) … I heard people running and screaming.”

Latimore was shot in the back, leg, arm and abdomen, with some bullets injuring some of his internal organs. His mother, SeMiko Latimore, told the Dispatch that her son is “thankful to be alive” after the “senseless shooting.”

A GoFundMe titled “United Together for Coach Shaq” has raised over $10,000 for the recovering coach.

“I’m going to be OK,” Latimore said. “It’s more psychological than anything else.”