What could have been an unspeakable tragedy unfolded at a youth baseball tournament in Katy, Texas, when gunfire ripped across a field crowded with children. A coach was struck in the shoulder during a pre-game prayer, and three men have since been arrested.
The Waller County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Mahmood Abdelsalam Rababah, 23, Ahmad Mawed, 21, and Mustafa Mohammad Matalgah, 27, were charged with felony deadly conduct with a firearm after being accused of firing multiple rounds from a nearby pasture in the direction of children. A judge set bond at $100,000 for each of them.
The shooting happened at The Rac Katy. According to law enforcement, the three suspects were engaged in so-called “recreational shooting” about 600 to 700 yards away from the ballfield. One of their stray rounds struck a 27-year-old coach as he led a pre-game prayer with the young players.
Witnesses describe chaos as gunshots echoed across the complex. Houston Warriors founder Andy Baize said the coach shielded a child and then immediately helped lead players to safety, even while wounded. “He literally took the bullet for a child that was to his left,” Baize told KHOU 11, adding, “When he was struck by the bullet, his first reaction was to get down to the ground, cover his kids and get them to a safe space.”
Emergency responders airlifted the coach to a hospital, where he was treated and later released. A bystander used a belt to stop the bleeding before paramedics arrived.
The incident was so intense that bullets reportedly struck a nearby light pole, and a livestream of the game captured coaches, umpires, and players sprinting for cover. Alex Smith and Corbin Geisendorff, coaches for the Texas Colts 12U team, said they had heard gunfire the previous day but thought it was distant. On Sunday, the shooting was unmistakably close.
“There were bullets flying everywhere … onto the field, off the poles,” Geisendorff said. “We’ll never be back there.”
“It’s terrible. I’m going to try to not get emotional, but I’ll never forget their little faces during that moment. It’s scary to realize how close the kids were,” Smith said. “Our team was about to take the field. Our kids were out, ready to go. And them shots started being let go. They ducked down, got in line, and they trusted us, thankfully, and we got them to their parents. … I just want to make sure they’re okay and their families are okay and we just stay together. That’s the ultimate goal.”
The suspects are charged with deadly conduct in the weekend shooting at a baseball tournament in Katy, according to the Waller County Sheriff’s Office. https://t.co/hRlKQq2fsk
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) September 24, 2025
Baize said the injured coach’s first words after surgery were: “I need to leave because I have to go coach my kids at 3 p.m.” The coach’s dedication, he added, underscores the gravity of what these children experienced — and how narrowly they escaped tragedy.
The Rac Katy issued a statement expressing sorrow, halting all games pending an internal and police investigation, and promising to do “everything possible” to prevent such an incident from happening again.
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