www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-baseball14apr14,0,2411050.story
By Hector Becerra and Wendy Thermos, Times Staff Writers A 13-year-old is in custody today on suspicion of murder after he repeate dly struck a 15-year-old with a baseball bat after a Pony League game in Palmdale, authorities said. Ballplayers and parents watched in horror at a snack stand as the assaila nt, who witnesses said became enraged when his team was ridiculed for lo sing a game, took the bat out of a bag and attacked.
Click Here advertisement Bystanders, including the victim's father, identified as a coach in the l eague, rushed to revive Jeremy Rourke, a former Pony League all-star. Accounts of the attack differed, but witnesses agreed that Rourke was str uck by more than one blow. Several said Rourke was first struck in the k nee, and then in the head as he bent over. Others said he was first stru ck on the chin, then the head. The 13-year-old, according to witnesses, looked stunned after the attack. Still wearing his red Angels cap, the boy was interviewed by sheriff's deputies before he was detained as a juvenile. Some witnesses said the dispute at Palmdale Pony Youth Baseball Field esc alated when Rourke teased the 13-year-old after his previously unbeaten Angels team lost to a Dodgers team that had not previously won a game. "Jeremy apparently said something like, 'How could you lose to a team wit h no wins,' " said Jay Croom, who spoke to relatives of the dead boy. "I don't think Jeremy's intention was to start a fight, but when you know other baseball players, you give them a hard time. Croom said the Rourkes have been involved in baseball for years. On Tuesd ay night, Jeremy helped his younger sister at the snack bar and watched a younger brother play, Croom said. "He was a fun-loving kid from a family that was very tightknit," said Cro om, whose two sons have played in the league. "We lost a kid that had a tremendous amount of potential and who was full of joy. He was one of th ose kids who constantly made people laugh." A counselor at Highland High School in Palmdale, where Rourke was a ninth - grader active in football, said crisis teams of counselors and psychol ogists were to be on campus all day. "He was really well-liked, and he touched many of our kids' life," said A l Chronister. At the school, tearful students, teachers and parents gathered at noon to day for a memorial service. Many said they could not understand how dead ly violence had flared around youth sports. Fellow students described Rourke as an outgoing athlete who played on the football team and liked to skateboard. Friends released dozens of heliu m-filled balloons, with written messages from students. "We will never forget the way you made us laugh," read one. Another bore the message, "We will always love you and your pink shirt." At the middle school where the 13-year-old attended, some friends said he was a straight A student who played basketball and baseball. In a letter, Cactus Intermediate School Principal R Kate Laferriere told parents that counselors and a psychologist would be made available to s tudents. The attack occurred at 8:34 pm Tuesday at a field in the 38300 block of 20th Street East, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Alba Yates. They are wholesome games," said Jor ge Morey, whose 6-year-old son plays in Pony League. Times staff writers Anna Gorman, Susana Enriquez and Nicholas Shields con tributed to this report.
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