Twelve teenagers were wounded when gunfire erupted between two groups at a Georgia park early Sunday, after an 18th-birthday celebration was moved there from a rented home, the Bibb County sheriff said.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said in its initial media release that deputies were called to Carolyn Crayton Park in Macon just after midnight Sept. 27 for a shooting at a large gathering.
Before deputies reached the park, they began receiving reports that shooting victims were arriving at a local medical facility in private vehicles. The first count listed 11 wounded people: four 18-year-old males, five 17-year-old males and two 18-year-old females.
An 18-year-old male and a 17-year-old male were initially listed in critical condition, while the other nine were stable. Sheriff David Davis later said a 12th victim, a 19-year-old male, had also been identified, bringing the total number wounded to 12.
The sheriff’s initial release offered little indication of what had happened before the shooting. Later Sunday, Davis provided a much fuller account during a news conference.
The gathering had begun as a party celebrating a young woman’s 18th birthday at a rented home in neighboring Jones County, Davis said. The group eventually left that property and continued the gathering at Carolyn Crayton Park.
Another group later arrived near the park. Davis said words were exchanged, firearms were displayed and the confrontation turned into a shootout.
Gunfire Erupts
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Surveillance footage from the park captured an eruption of gunfire lasting roughly 30 seconds as people ran from the area, Davis said, according to an Associated Press report on his briefing.
“Both groups exchanged words, brandished firearms and then began firing at each other,” Davis said.
The sheriff said investigators were still working to determine how the two groups knew one another and what set off the confrontation.
Despite the exchange of gunfire, Davis said investigators had not found evidence at that point indicating that any of the 12 people who were wounded had fired a weapon.
No arrests had been announced Sunday afternoon.
The Investigation
Deputies impounded four vehicles that had carried shooting victims to the hospital as well as three vehicles left at the park, Davis said. Investigators had also interviewed 10 witnesses and identified several people of interest.
The FBI was assisting with the investigation because of the number of people involved, although Davis said the available evidence indicated the shooting was a local incident, CBS News reported.
Several students from Central High School and Northeast High School had been among the birthday gathering, according to the sheriff.
The initial sheriff’s office release classified the case as an aggravated-assault investigation and said its Criminal Investigation Division was working to determine what led to the shooting.
Davis indicated investigators expected additional enforcement activity as they worked to identify who fired the weapons.
Anyone with information can contact the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500 or Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.