Former North Texas baseball player recovering in ICU after being hit by stray bullet during college game
Matthew DeLaney, 18, was hit in the chest, his former coach said. A 20-year-old is now charged in connection to the shooting, and a 17-year-old is still at large.
PRINCETON, Texas — A former North Texas high school baseball player is recovering in intensive care after being shot during a college baseball game in Texarkana on Saturday.
Matthew DeLaney, who played at Princeton High School and is now a player for Texas A&M-Texarkana, was struck in the chest by a stray bullet during the fifth inning of the university’s final homestand of the season.
DeLaney, per the Texarkana Police Department, was standing near a bullpen and batting cages at the southwest corner of George Dobson Field when he was hit.
He was taken to an area hospital, where he remains as of Monday.
The game was stopped while detectives and police scoured the field for possible evidence.
Investigators said Sunday that the stray bullet was fired roughly 400 yards away in a neighborhood just west of the stadium during a gunfight between two people.
Demarco Banks, 20, turned himself in and has been charged with deadly conduct in connection to the shooting. A 17-year-old named Kamauri Butler is still at large and wanted for aggravated assault.
Police added that they received calls about the gunfire nearby and connected the two scenes when they found shell casings in front of a home in the neighborhood.
DeLaney is in stable condition, but his injuries are serious. Princeton High School head baseball coach Leroy Mansanales told WFAA that the teen is dealing with a collapsed lung and that the bullet hit a few of his vertebrae.
Per Mansanales, DeLaney is dealing with some paralysis on his left side.
“My son is close with Matthew, and they sent each other messages on Snapchat all day before that. To hear what happened hit hard. He’s at a baseball field, where he’s supposed to be, and he wasn’t causing trouble or anything,” Mansanales said.
“He walked through our gate daily ready to fight with a great attitude. His effort and attitude were unmatchable and unquestionable. I texted him that now was the time to fight and that if I’ve ever asked him to fight, now is the time. He texted back, and I was happy to see that. So he’s a fighter,” Mansanales said.
Mansanales is working to gather donations to deliver to the DeLaney family, as they will likely be in Texarkana for the foreseeable future as their son recovers.
He said he grew close to the DeLaney family throughout his six years of coaching at Princeton.
While the 2022 graduate is now dealt a severe and tragic hand in life, Mansanales said the teen would find a way to get better and back on the field.
“I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now, but he will fight,” Mansanales said.
