Update 6/8 – 6:45am – Brownwood City Manager Bobby Rountree issued the following statement Friday morning:
Veteran Fire Fighter Shannon Stone died last night when he fell from the stands at Arlington Stadium. He reached over the railing to catch a foul ball and fell approximately 20/25’. Shannon ’s young son, Cooper, was with him. He was a 17 year veteran of the Fire Dept. In respect for Shannon and his family, the City of Brownwood will fly its flags at half-mast through the day of the funeral. This is a tragedy for the Stone family, his Fire Fighter brothers and the City of Brownwood . Please keep the Stone family and his fellow Fire Fighters in your prayers.
Details regarding the funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time.
Update 6/8 – 5am – A news release from the Arlington Fire Department said that 39-year-old Shannon Stone went into full cardiac arrest en route to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:26 p.m, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Stone fell from the outfield at 7:33 p.m.
According to at least one player, Stone was speaking with paramedics immediately following his fall at Rangers Ballpark.
Oakland relief pitcher Brad Ziegler said he thought Stone was going to be OK after the fall because he was telling medical personnel to “please check on my son up there,” according to the Dallas Morning News.
Update 11:00pm: Brownwood City Manager Bobby Rountree confirms that the firefighter who died is Shannon Stone of the Brownwood Fire Department.
Original Story: Brownwood Fire Marshal Buddy Preston confirmed that a Brownwood Firefighter died Thursday after he took a fall at a Texas Rangers baseball game in Arlington. Officials state that he is a husband and father.
The firefighter died after taking a head-first fall out of the outfield stands during Thursday night’s game between the Rangers and the Athletics.
The accident happened during the second inning as Josh Hamilton picked up a foul ball and tossed it into the stands for a fan.
The firefighter reached too far over the railing to catch the ball and fell about 20 feet to the ground behind the left field scoreboard.
“We are deeply saddened to learn that the man who fell has passed away as a result of this tragic accident,” Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Reports indicate that the man was taken to JPS Hospital in Fort Worth where he died.
No other details are available as of Thursday night.
