Twelve teenagers were shot in the early morning on Sunday after gunfire broke out at a birthday party in Macon, Georgia.
Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said at a press conference that local high school students congregated at the skate park at Carolyn Crayton Park late Saturday night after being told to leave the Airbnb where the party was supposed to be held. Davis said another group of students arrived and the two exchanged words before gunfire erupted.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into the incident but has not made any arrests. All of the victims are between the ages of 17 and 19, including an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy who are in critical condition. Two 18-year-old women were also among those wounded. Most of the victims were taken to a nearby hospital in personal vehicles, according to the Associated Press.
The shootout, which occurred shortly after midnight, involved students associated with Central High School, Northeast High School, VIP Academy, and SOAR Academy, Davis said, according to 13WMAZ. He noted there’s no indication “that any of these individuals who were injured at this time participated in the gunfire” and “can’t remember the last time we’ve had this many people shot at one time.”
THREE DEAD AND FOUR INJURED IN DETROIT STRIP CLUB SHOOTING, POLICE SAY
“We do have some people of interest in this case that we hope to be able to move forward in the next hours or the next days to have some people brought in, to be responsible for this horrific chain of events from last night,” he said. Ten witnesses were brought to the sheriff’s office for interviews, and seven vehicles found at the scene were taken to the crime lab. The FBI is assisting in the investigation.
Macon is a mid-sized city about an hour and a half outside Atlanta.