A youth baseball coach was killed and his son was injured in a drive-by highway shooting Tuesday night in Minnesota, according to police and his colleagues.
Jay Boughton, an assistant coach with the local Armstrong Cooper Youth Baseball Association, was shot and killed as he returned from coaching the 15U-AAA baseball game against Coon Rapids, according to Dale Bjerke, president of the ACYBA.
"Jay's son ... was in the car with him, when another vehicle pulled up beside them and shot Jay as he was driving," Bjerke said, adding that "the senselessness of this act is beyond understanding."
The shooting took place at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday night as Boughton drove down Highway 169 in Plymouth, about 15 miles west of downtown Minneapolis, according to the Plymouth Police Department.
Boughton's son survived with injuries, the Plymouth Police Department said.
Plymouth Police Chief Erik Fadden said Wednesday that police were dispatched to an accident site when they "determined that the driver of the vehicle had sustained a gunshot wound."
Fadden said they determined the suspect had fled the scene in a light-colored SUV after what they believe "may have been some sort of traffic altercation between the two drivers."
After he was shot, Boughton's vehicle ran off the highway and crashed, Fadden said.
Fadden said the PPD is investigating numerous tips, including that the suspect's SUV may have damage to the side rear bumper.
"This was one of the most tragic events that I have witnessed in my 20 years of policing," Fadden said. "Truly a senseless act that resulted with a loss of a human life."
Bjerke said that the ACYBA organization has been sharing emails all day "about Jay and what a wonderful Coach, Parent, and Husband he was."
"Jay was the one of those guys who would do anything for anyone at any time and always with a smile."
Bjerke said Boughton leaves behind his wife Kristin, who was also involved with ACYBA, his son and a daughter.
