An estimated 600 people were at a Texas park Sunday when fireworks went off and gunshots rang out.
Fort Worth Police responded to Village Creek Park just before 7 p.m. and found five people injured, Public Information Officer Buddy Calzada said during a press briefing Sunday night.
There were about 600 people in the park when fireworks exploded. Witnesses told police that they heard 30 rounds of gunfire immediately after the fireworks, according to Calzada.
Responding officers found five people with injuries and transported them all to local hospitals. Three suffered non-life threatening injuries and two others are in critical condition, Calzada said.
“The best thing we can do for them is obviously pray and … get them some medical care right now,” Calzada said of the victims.
There was no additional information regarding the victims or possible suspects given during the press briefing.
The police department’s gang unit is taking the lead, and state and federal partners are assisting with the investigation, according to Calzada.
The Stay at Home order in Texas expired May 1 and plans for the easing of additional restrictions have been laid out for the state. While parks in the city are open, people are still encouraged to social distance.
As for the large crowd, Calzada explained that while the department works to tell people to follow social distancing rules, they try not to enforce with citations.
“We’ve been stating that everyone would follow the rules that have been set out,” Calzada said. “We’ve tried to work with everybody to not try to cite them or ticket them but ultimately people have a choice and that’s just the choice they made tonight.”
