Three people were killed and eight others were injured in Fort Worth late Monday night when several men began shooting indiscriminately into a crowd, police said.
The shooting happened just before midnight in the Como neighborhood, southwest of downtown Fort Worth. One person died at the scene of the shooting, and two died of their injuries at local hospitals. Eight others were treated for gunshot wounds at three different hospitals, police said.
Authorities said the shooting was not related to an annual July 3 community event that took place earlier in the day at another location.
The Fort Worth Police Department’s homicide unit is investigating the shooting, Officer Daniel Segura, a spokesman, said in an email. No one has been arrested, and police are asking people to call with any tips, he added.
“Fireworks were being shot off, a lot of people were just trying to flee the area of the multiple gunshots, so it was difficult for them to navigate quickly into the area,” Fort Worth Police Department Capt. Shawn Murray said at a news conference. shortly after the shooting.
He said it was too early to say whether the shooting was gang-related or related to a domestic dispute.
Mayor Mattie Parker of Fort Worth said so on Twitter she was devastated by the shooting.
“There’s heartbreak and then you’re furious about it,” Ms Parker told WFAA-TV.
“We have a long way to go, and so does this country,” she added. “We are all reeling from gun violence.”
Just hours before the shooting in Fort Worth, a gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire in Philadelphia, killing five men between the ages of 20 and 59 and wounding two others, ages 2 and 13. A suspect was taken into custody by police.
On Sunday, at least two people died and 28 others were injured in a shooting at a block party in the Brooklyn neighborhood of south Baltimore.
The Fort Worth shooting came a year after seven people were killed and dozens were injured in a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb 25 miles north of Chicago. Some Americans said they were nervous about attending large public events this year for the Fourth, such as parades and fireworks, because of the number of mass shootings across the country in recent years.
President Biden acknowledged the violence in statement on Tuesday and urged other states to follow the example of Illinois, which banned certain high-powered firearms and high-capacity magazines after the Highland Park shooting.
“Over the past few days, our nation has once again suffered a wave of tragic and senseless shootings in communities across America — from Philadelphia to Fort Worth, Baltimore to Lansing, Wichita to Chicago,” Mr. Biden said. “Today, Jill and I mourn those who lost their lives and, as our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray for the day our communities will be free of gun violence.”
Amanda Holpuch and Johnny Diaz contributed reporting.