Man charged following kidnapping, shooting at youth football game

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Buffalo man is facing several charges following an alleged kidnapping followed by a shooting at a 11U football game on Sunday, Buffalo police said.

Police said during a press conference Monday that they responded to a man with a gun call around 11 a.m. on the first block of Moselle Street, but no suspect matching the description was located.

It is believed that Rashaan Mallory, 29, allegedly took a woman against her will at gunpoint and forced her to drive to the football field off of Koons Avenue with another victim in the car, police said.

When they arrived at the field, where the team GR8 Elite Ducks was playing the Flower City Panthers, a team from Rochester, Mallory allegedly walked with them through the parking lot before encountering another woman and robbing her of her cellphone.

Police said he then encountered another man and ordered him to give up his chain. Mallory is accused of attempting to fire his gun but it was believed that he misfired. When walking away from the scene, the man, a 31-year-old Rochester coach, was allegedly shot by Mallory, once in the right shin and once on the left foot.

One man who was at the game described the scene after hearing gunshots.

“Just several coaches and parents jumping to action, grabbing kids they didn’t know, taking them to the bushes, laying on them, making sure everything was cool,” he said. “At that moment, I actually put my eyes on the shooter, I’d seen him with his arm out with the gun extended. I didn’t know exactly what was going on yet. We went for cover over there in the tracks and like I said, there were coaches taking kids into safety.”

It is alleged that Mallory then fled the scene.

Around 11:35 a.m., police responded to the call of a shooting at the football field. At the same time, Mallory’s vehicle was spotted on Goodyear Avenue. Police said he would not listen to orders during a traffic stop and instead reversed north on Goodyear before crashing into a street sign at Goodyear and Sycamore.

A loaded 9mm semiautomatic gun was recovered at the scene of the crash. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident.

Mallory, who police said is currently on parole, was charged with the following:

• second-degree attempted murder
• second-degree kidnapping
• first-degree assault
• first-degree robbery (three counts)
• second-degree criminal possession of a weapon
• third-degree criminal possession of a weapon
• criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds
• first-degree unlawful imprisonment
• second-degree menacing
• fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property

He is scheduled to return to court Sept. 20. The investigation remains ongoing.

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