SAN DIEGO, Calif. (NewsNation Now) — San Diego police are calling the deaths of a woman and her 2-year-old son “suspicious” after they fell from the third level of Petco Park.
It happened Saturday just as thousands of baseball fans were heading inside for a Padres game, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The woman, 40, and the boy were pronounced dead at 4:11 p.m., about 20 minutes after police were alerted to the incident, San Diego Police Lt. Andra Brown told the newspaper.
The pair fell from the third-level concourse, the equivalent of six stories high, to the sidewalk below on Tony Gwynn Drive, Brown said.
Their names were not released; both lived in San Diego. The mother and child had been at a dining/concession area on the concourse level prior to the fall, Lt. Adam T. Sharki said. The child’s father was at the ballpark when the deaths occurred, police reported.
“It’s a tragic event,” Brown said. “We feel horrible for the families and our hearts obviously go out to the family members, but also the people here that potentially could be traumatized.”
The Padres released a statement Sunday on the incident.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life at Petco Park last evening,” the statement read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of those involved. We will continue to refrain from comment on the nature of the incident as it is an ongoing investigation by the San Diego Police Department.”
Police are investigating whether the fall was an accident or intentional but noted that the victims’ deaths “appeared to be suspicious.”
“We do not know the circumstances surrounding it,” Brown said. “We do not know if it was accidental or intentional.”
Brown said investigators understand that there may have been a number of people in the concourse area who might have more information, which, she said, could potentially “give the family some peace.”
As police investigate whether the fall was an accident or intentional, Harris addressed whether there is a need for more protection at the stadium.
“It’s important because we need to know if the Padres need to put in some sort of increased caging or something of that sort so this never happens again,” he said.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate KSWB contributed to this report.