Teen Killed In Baseball Bat Attack

PALMDALE, Calif.—A 13-year-old pitcher whose baseball team, the Angels, had just lost for the first time this season was being teased at the concession stand when witnesses said he pulled out a bat and clobbered his 15-year-old antagonist.

Now he could face a murder charge.

The teen, whose name was not released, was arrested Wednesday for investigation of murder and was being held at Antelope Valley Juvenile Hall as authorities prepared to take the case to prosecutors.

He is suspected of killing spectator Jeremy Rourke, 15, after the Tuesday night game.

Despite the fight, the boys had no history of problems, said Tony Trevino, coach of the opposing Dodgers.

“That’s what’s so shocking and so appalling,” he said. “What happened? What did we miss as a community? What did we miss as parents.”

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Rourke was white and the suspect is black, but “racism had nothing to do with it,” Trevino said. “This is a behavior problem not a racial problem.”

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