Coach shot to death as youth football games were being played, Texas officials say
What started as an afternoon filled with youth football excitement suddenly turned tragic when a Houston high school football coach was gunned down in front of a crowd of children and adults on Saturday, Texas officials said.
Derwyn Lauderdale, a Travis High School teacher and football coach, was shot in the parking lot of a sports complex and died from his injuries after being transported to a hospital. The suspect, James Hamilton, was taken into custody within minutes of the shooting, Rosenberg Police said.
Witnesses told police that Lauderdale, 29, was walking with a child toward the suspect’s car when Hamilton shot Lauderdale in the abdomen in front of a crowd, the New York Daily News reported. The complex was hosting a series of youth football games.
“What a sad set of circumstances that took place during this event,” Rosenberg police chief Jonathan White said. “Children came to play a game they love, only to have it ruined by a career criminal committing an act of family violence. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this tragedy and we will pursue appropriate charges so justice may be served.”
Investigators say the victim and suspect “had an ongoing family-related dispute,” and that Hamilton has a criminal history that includes arrests for unlawful carrying of a weapon, protective order and terroristic threat causing fear of imminent serious bodily injury. At the time of the shooting, Hamilton was in possession of a handgun that was stolen from the Houston Police Department.
Travis High School principal Sarah Laberge said that Lauderdale was in his first year at the school, KHOU 11 reported.
“This news has shocked our THS community and has left us heartbroken for his family,” Laberge said in a letter to parents, according to KHOU. “I want to make you aware and ask you join me in keeping his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.”