A Missouri father has been found guilty by a jury after he shot a football coach multiple times during an altercation stemming from the victim not giving the convicted man’s son enough playing time.
In a statement, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office said that the October 2023 incident occurred close to a practice field in Sherman Park, St. Louis. Authorities also said a group of nine- and ten-year-olds were playing around the scene when Daryl B. Clemmons, 45, opened fire on Shaquille Latimore, 34.
Latimore, a City Rec Legends Football League volunteer coach, and Clemmons were said to be having issues over the duration of time game the victim was giving the convicted man’s son.
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Authorities said that Clemmons attended his son’s practice on the day he shot Latimore. Prior to the shooting, Clemmons and Latimore got into a verbal altercation, with authorities saying that the two men were armed at the time.
“Latimore handed his gun to a friend and told Clemmons they should fight with fists,” the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office said in the statement. “Clemmons rejected that idea and shot Latimore five times. Clemmons then fled but turned himself in to police later that evening.”
The jury found Clemmons guilty of assault and armed criminal action, and his sentencing date has been set for March 13.
“Violence, especially in youth sports, is completely unacceptable and undermines the purpose of these programs – teaching teamwork, discipline, and respect,” Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said. “This could easily have been a lethal encounter for the coach as well as for the children and family members present. Unfortunately, the trauma of this event will not be easily forgotten by all those who witnessed it.”
In an interview with St. Louis Post-Dispatch after the shooting, Latimore’s mother SeMiko Latimore, said what occurred was “senseless.”
“We’re supposed to be bringing these kids off the streets and teaching them what to do, what not to do. We’ve got all these kids traumatized because their coach was shot in front of them,” she added. “He could have easily hit one of those children.”
“Shaquille is one of those fair coaches, so he tries to rotate all of the kids in,” she continued. “The parent was a little unhappy … and wanted his kid to do more than someone else and was upset the way things were being done.”
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