ST. LOUIS _ A woman was grazed in the arm by a stray bullet during Tuesday night's Cardinals game inside Busch Stadium.
Police sources say there had been a call for shots fired near the 14th Street and Chouteau Avenue area moments before the woman was struck, and that the bullet may have come from someone shooting into the air.
That intersection is less than a mile from Busch.
St. Louis police said the woman, 34, was sitting in her seat in section 141 about 9:40 p.m. when she felt pain to her arm. She removed her jacket and noticed a small abrasion to her elbow. She went to the first aid station, and workers there contacted an off-duty police officer working a secondary security job there, police said.
The victim could not be reached for comment. Her mother told the Post-Dispatch that the victim had retained an attorney and they had been advised not to speak to the media.
Todd Porter, 54, of O'Fallon, Ill., was at the game with his 13-year-old son, Christopher, and was seated directly in front of the victim. She suddenly said, "Wow, I think I've been shot," just as the eighth inning was coming to a close, Porter said.
"We thought she was joking, but everybody turned around and she showed me the blood coming down from her elbow," Porter said. "It looked real purple and red and it looked like there was a hole in her jacket."
The man who was sitting with the victim then said, "We need security, she's been shot," Porter recalled.
Porter said the woman picked up the bullet slug from underneath her seat near the first-base line.
A bullet slug was found "in the immediate area around the victim's seat," according to police. They said it appeared the bullet came from outside the stadium.
In a statement, the Cardinals confirmed the incident and said: "There is nothing more important than the safety of our fans, and the Cardinals are grateful that no one was seriously injured."
Porter said he hopes the woman is OK.
"She was in shock," Porter said. "We were all in shock. They were just sitting there like any other couple, laughing and giggling, and a little bit later is when that happened."
Porter said he and his son were sitting in seats 7, 8 or 9 in Section 141 when it happened, and "could have thrown a ball and hit first base." His son sat in front of the victim.
"It could very easily have hit him," Porter said.
Porter said he and his son then left the game.
"I told my son, 'Let's get up out of here before someone else gets to shooting,' " Porter said.
Porter said he was surprised that the incident had not been reported to the public sooner.
"This is terrible," he said. "Someone is shot in the elbow and no one hears about it? Let the public know what's going on. If somebody out there is shooting, I understand you didn't want people to get up during the game and run, but at least let people know this happened as soon as possible and know, 'We're sorry to hear it happened to her and checking to find out what happened.' "
The police department released a statement confirming the incident in response to questions Wednesday morning from the Post-Dispatch.
"This further amplifies our yearly message of encouraging 'Fun Without Guns,' " the statement concluded. "We know 'what goes up must come down,' and in this case, an innocent victim was struck. The department constantly stresses the importance of safety and responsible gun ownership."
