Eight teenagers and a 5-year-old boy were wounded when gunfire broke out at a Shell gas station in Georgia, police said.
Officers with the Columbus Police Department responded to reports of a shooting on Friday just after 10 p.m., WRBL reported. When they arrived at the gas station, police spotted “a large group of people,” including the victims, all of who suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds. They range in age from 5 to 17 years old and include seven males and two females.
None of the victims have been identified.
So far, no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting, which remains under investigation. Authorities have asked anyone with any information in the case to come forward.
“The rash of gun violence involving our youth is impacting communities across the country,” Columbus Police Chief Freddie Blackmon said.
“While Columbus is not immune to these incidents, I want to assure citizens that the men and women of CPD are tirelessly working to get violent offenders off our streets,” he continued. “It is going to take a community effort to combat gun violence in our city. The entire village has a responsibility because incidents like this impacts all of us.”
The mass shooting marks the 74th this year in the U.S., according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. It comes on the heels of a violent attack in Mississippi that left six people dead. The shooter, who has not been identified, gunned down his ex-wife and five others before he was arrested in Arkabutla Friday night.
He was armed with a shotgun and two handguns.
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