South Florida football coach gunned down at youth practice

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – A volunteer youth-football league coach was gunned down just moments after he had brought cookies and Gatorade to his team after a practice at a Fort Lauderdale park.

The Sun Sentinel of South Florida reports that 43-year-old Dave Williams died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Hundreds of athletes, parents, cheerleaders and coaches were at the park at the time of the fatal shooting Thursday night. No one else was injured.

Jamaal Gaines, president of the Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes youth football club, said he doesn’t know why Williams appeared to be targeted.

Fort Lauderdale police officers were asking for the public’s help in identifying the gunman. Police officers said Williams was approached by several men before the shooting, and they were seen running away.

“It’s a sad day,” Gaines said. “I feel so bad that it happened around what we were trying to do for the children in our city.

“We’re doing a great job for the community,” Gaines added. “I pray this doesn’t impact the program.”

The Hurricanes are in the process of planning events to remember Williams, said Martin Maultsby, president of the Florida Youth Football League. The League canceled the all the Hurricanes’ games against the Miami Gardens Chiefs that were scheduled to be played this weekend.

“Everything just happened so rapidly, and it’s not a norm or common. It’s an anomaly,” Maultsby said. “This is not the place for this kind of violence. I’ve been in (youth football) for over 20 years, and this is the first one.”