Surviving the Unthinkable: St. Louis Youth Football Coach Recounts Harrowing Encounter with Angry Parent’s Gunfire

A Missouri children’s soccer coach has revealed the horrific moment he was shot by a disgruntled father over his son’s playing time on the field.

Shaquille Latimore, 30, was shot on Oct. 10 in front of a huge group of children, made up of numerous teams, in the culmination of a weeks-long feud.

After alleged shooter Daryl Clemmons, 43, turned himself in to police and is now charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, Latimore spoke out to detail the horrific incident.

“I thought he was going to kill me,” he told Newsnation. “I mean, he shot when I didn’t have a gun, I didn’t have a gun, I was on the ground defenseless.”

Latimore was shot four times in the leg, arm, back and abdomen and suffered injuries to his internal organs, but says he is recovering in hospital and is ‘getting better day by day’

Daryl Clemmons, 43, turned himself in at the North Patrol Division Station and was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action the day after the Oct. 11 shooting.

Latimore said from his hospital bed that the shooting occurred after he benched a young player for “not having a good game the day before,” a move that enraged the alleged shooter.

Latimore, a married father of five, said he approached the irate father “because we had words before,” which quickly escalated into the horror shooting.

“While I was trying to talk to him or whatever, he pulled out his gun and I saw his gun, I kind of ran, jumped off, like I jumped from the top parking lot onto the grass. And he shot me,” he said.

Latimore was hit in the leg, arm, back and abdomen and suffered injuries to his internal organs after Clemmons allegedly continued shooting at the coach as he hit the ground.

“He shot me once in the back, then he shot me two or three more times while I was on the ground… And I mean, I was just in disbelief.”

After firing four shots in front of shocked onlookers, Latimore said the gunman told him, “You thought this was over? Did you think you had one?’

Latimore added that the shooting was made worse by the fact that not only his team of nine and 10-year-olds witnessed it, but several other year groups of seven and 12-year-olds were also bystanders.

Latimore told authorities that the suspect was “angry at him for not letting his son get started,” according to a probable cause statement from the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office.

Clemmons coached the 9U St. Louis Recreation League Bad Boyz a few years ago before Latimore joined as a volunteer assistant coach and worked with his cousin

The married father of five children

Latimore’s mother, SeMiko Latimore, said she was familiar with Clemmons’ “antics” from previous practices.

‘He was a little extra. You always knew he was there.

“Shaquille is one of those fair coaches, so he tries to rotate all the kids. “The parent was a bit unhappy and wanted their child to do more than anyone else and was upset about the way things were being done,” she said.

‘(The shooting) is pointless. The idea is to get these children off the streets and teach them what to do and what not to do.

“We traumatized all these kids because their coach was shot in front of their eyes. He could have easily hit one of those kids.”

The coach’s mother, SeMiko Latimore, said she was familiar with the alleged shooter’s “antics” during previous training

According to a fundraising set up to help Latimore recover, which has raised more than $7,000 in just a few days, the severity of his injuries means the coach “will be out of work indefinitely.”

As he recovers in the hospital and “gets better every day,” Latimore has seen an outpouring of support from his young players and their families.

Latimore said the worship of his players is “how I get my blessings,” and said his role as a community leader is fueled by the help he received from coaches as a child.

“You know, someone did that for me. Someone coached me when I was younger, and you know, he just kept me off the streets.

‘St. Louis is a cold place, a real cold place, it will swallow you up if you let it. I love those kids, every one of those kids.

‘I coach hard. I actually apply everything we do in football to life, for us it involves hard work, where nothing is given.

‘No, just the same, the same as in life. No, you can’t just go out and get a job. You have to work hard. You can’t just go out and get something. We have to work hard.’