The Washington Nationals game was halted as police said four were shot outside the stadium

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The match between San Diego Padres and Washington in the sixth inning was suspended Saturday night after police said there was a shooting outside Nationals Park.

Dustin Sternbeck, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department, said two people were shot dead. He said investigators believe, based on initial information, that one of the victims was a stadium employee.

And Washington police later tweeted that “two additional victims related to the incident were admitted to area hospitals to receive treatment for gunshot wounds.”

More than twenty police cars, ambulances and firefighting vehicles were on the street outside the third base side of the stadium, and a police helicopter hovered overhead.

Padres had just taken to the bottom of sixth place when he heard several loud pops from the left side of the field. Players from both teams cleared the field.

Soon the fans seated in left field began to leave through the central field gate. After a short time, fans along the first base side began briskly leaving their seats. Some fans crowded the Padres lair on the side of the third base for safety as sirens could be heard from outside the park.

Arman Ramnath, 27, of nearby Arlington, Virginia, and a recent law school graduate, said he and a friend were sitting on the third side of the stadium when they heard what sounded like fireworks.

“We weren’t sure what it was,” Ramnath said. “Then everyone started shrugging.”

Ramnath said he and his friend ended up hiding behind the benches for five minutes or more. He said that after a while people started getting up and leaving, but stadium announcements told fans to wait. In the end they were allowed to leave.

Ramnath said, “It felt so surreal. I wasn’t really sure how to respond. I mean, I heard about it…but you never expect it to be something that can affect you.”

The Nationals initially announced that there had been an incident outside the stadium and posted a message on the scoreboard telling fans to stay inside the stadium.

About 10 minutes later, the team tweeted: “Fire shooting was reported outside the third primary gate in Nationals Park. Fans are encouraged to leave the stadium via the CF and RF gates at this time.

Padres led 8-4 when the match was stopped. It will resume on Sunday afternoon, followed by the regularly scheduled match.

Fernando Tates Jr. had four hits for San Diego. Ryan Zimmerman went to Washington.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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