Rochester youth football team traumatized but moving forward after coach shot during game

Rochester, New York – A team and parents were frightened by the shooting that occurred over the weekend at a minor football game in Buffalo.

The Sunday shooting, according to parents, players, and coaches, happened very quickly.
“What’s going on? Because I didn’t know what was going on,” expressed ZooLife football player Amir Bredlove. The Flower City Panthers football program.

Soon after, the reality dawned on me.

Bredlove recalled, “I really heard it in the second shot, and I ran.”

Only a few steps away from the squad, gunfire was heard during an attempted heist.

Shannon Leonard, a player’s mother, said, “I was scared, traumatized, really just worried about getting the kids to safety and then helping the victim.”

A thirty-year-old man was shot. That man was there to support the team; he is a coach with the Flower City Panthers program.

After being hit in the left foot and right shin, he was discharged from the hospital on Monday.

The kids were shaken by the occurrence, according to the coach of the team that was competing at the time.

Anthony Jones, an assistant coach for the team, stated, “We got kids saying they don’t want to go to parks no more, kids saying they don’t want to play football no more, all because of this disturbing trauma they experienced yesterday.”

The group saw a grief counselor a day later.

The children are safe, but not well, according to Leonard. She is appreciative of the community’s resources for mental health.

Leonard remarked, “It was great to know there are people out there who are willing to help our boys.”They didn’t say much, but we’re simply giving them a lot of love for now. I’m sure they’ll be able to speak out for themselves eventually.

Leonard is adamant that the youngsters’ morale won’t be affected by this tragedy.

“We’re going to keep doing what they enjoy,” Leonard declared. “We don’t want them to have fear in their heart, we want them to still have a love for the sport.”

Police have charged 29-year-old Buffalo resident Rashaan Mallory with multiple offenses, including attempted murder. Due to a prior offense, he was on parole.