Mom, toddler fall to deaths at Padres’ Petco Park

Sept. 26 (UPI) — A mother and her 2-year-old son fell to their deaths at Petco Park before the San Diego Padres’ home game against the Atlanta Braves, the city’s Police Department said.

Shortly before 4 p.m. PDT Saturday, police said they were notified that two people had fallen from the third-level concourse level, which is the equivalent of six stories high, to the sidewalk. Two officers found the bodies of the woman, 40, and her son.

The woman and boy were declared dead at the scene at 4:11 p.m. They were not identified, but lived in San Diego.

They had been at a dining and concession area on the concourse level, police Lt. Adam T. Sharki said. The child’s father was at the ballpark.

A man told the San Diego Union-Tribune that his wife witnessed the fall, saying it appeared a toddler fell from an area with picnic tables, and the woman also fell trying to grab him.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life at Petco Park last evening,” the team said in a written statement Sunday morning. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of those involved. We will continue to refrain from comment on the nature of the incident as it is an ongoing investigation by the San Diego Police Department.”

Because police said the deaths “appeared to be suspicious” and “out of an abundance of caution,” the San Diego Police Homicide Unit were called to the scene.

Investigators are looking for evidence and possible witnesses, and they are hoping to speak with people who were present when the fall happened, according to the statement.

An announced crowd of 39,000 attended the game, which was the second-to-last one of the season at the ballpark.