A youth football homecoming celebration in West Baltimore turned into a crime scene Saturday evening when gunfire erupted over what police say was a fight between two grown men about a parking spot — leaving a 12-year-old girl dead and three adults wounded.

The shooting happened around 6:15 p.m. Saturday at Leon Day Park in the 1200 block of North Franklintown Road, where a youth football league was holding a homecoming event, according to CBS Baltimore. The girl was struck and killed while in the area; a 25-year-old woman and two men, ages 23 and 28, were also hit and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to Patch.

'A stupid parking spot'

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley told reporters the violence traced back to an argument between two adult men, not any dispute involving the children or families gathered for the game.

"Two grown men got into an argument and now a 12-year-old is gone. We should never have to say something like that."

Worley said investigators believe the fight was "most likely over a stupid parking spot," a detail that underscored, for city officials, how arbitrary the violence was. NBC News reported that two gunmen are being sought and that investigators recovered cartridge casings from two different guns at the scene, suggesting both men in the dispute may have opened fire.

Mayor Brandon Scott, visibly angered at the scene, called the shooting one of the most disturbing things he's witnessed, pointing to the absurdity of a dispute over a parking space ending a child's life at a community sporting event meant to bring families together.

Community reels, no arrests yet

As of late Saturday night, no arrests had been announced, and homicide detectives had taken over the investigation. Police asked anyone with information to call the department's tip line or Metro Crime Stoppers. Baltimore has seen a steep decline in homicides in recent years, a trend city leaders have repeatedly pointed to as evidence that violence-reduction strategies are working — making Saturday's shooting, with a child killed at a youth sports event, a particularly jarring setback.

Leon Day Park, named for the Negro League Baseball Hall of Famer, is a routine gathering spot for Baltimore recreational leagues, and the Charm City Buccaneers youth football program had reportedly been holding its homecoming festivities there when the shots rang out, sending players, coaches and families scrambling.

The medical examiner's office has not yet released the girl's name pending notification of next of kin. The investigation remains active, and police say they are reviewing surveillance footage from the area in hopes of identifying the two men involved in the altercation that preceded the shooting.