At least two bystanders were fatally shot at a Juneteenth celebration in Texas on Saturday night — one of multiple incidents of gun violence around the country that marred Father’s Day weekend.
An altercation between two groups of people exploded into gunfire at a free Juneteenth festival co-hosted by the city of Round Rock, police said. The event began at 5 p.m. and shots rang out at 10:50 p.m., roughly an hour before it was set to end.
Neither of the two victims was involved in the shooting, Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks said, and 14 other bystanders were taken to hospitals with gunshot wounds.
On Monday, the Round Rock Police Department identified the two victims as Lyndsey Vicknair, 33, from Manor, Texas, and Ara Duke, 54, from Pflugerville, Texas.
“It is unfortunate that we were here celebrating a wonderful event and we have a tragedy that happens,” Banks said. “My thoughts and my prayers go out to the victims. My condolences go out to the families of the deceased.”
Police are "actively searching" for a suspect.
Seven people were shot in an unrelated incident in Methuen, Massachusetts, on Sunday morning. An eighth person was injured while running away.
Two of the victims were in critical condition and others are stable, authorities said. The victims are from their late teens to 22 years old.
Police responded at 1:55 a.m. after they received multiple 911 calls of shots fired.
Methuen Police Chief Scott McNamara said the violence broke out at what was described as a “car club meetup,” a spontaneous gathering of young people who find abandoned parking lots, often facilitated through social media. Hundreds of people were gathered at the meetup, and no suspects were identified.
Such gatherings have been an issue in the area in recent years, McNamara said, but they do not typically escalate to such a level of violence.
“They’re certainly a concern for our community in terms of quality of life,” McNamara said. “Usually, these meetups consist of very loud music, disorderly conduct, sometimes drinking, vaping, that sort of thing.”
Officers have previously monitored social media to break up the gatherings, issue trespassing charges and track known “hot spots.” The scene where this shooting occurred, the parking lot of a commercial area, was not a known meetup point.
Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker told reporters that authorities are collecting a large volume of ballistic evidence. He did not specify the number but said there appeared to be fewer than 100 bullets.
“When you think about the ballistics evidence that we’re recovering, it’s incredible that not more people were hurt or killed,” Tucker said.
Multiple other shootings occurred over the Father’s Day weekend, including one at a Michigan park that injured nine people. Two boys, an 8-year-old and a 4-year-old, were among the victims in what appeared to be a random shooting at a splash pad Saturday. The 8-year-old was struck in the head and hospitalized in critical condition, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
The suspect was identified as 42-year-old Michael William Nash, who killed himself at a home in nearby Shelby Township, Bouchard said. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said that shortly after 5 p.m. the gunman drove up to the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad, got out of his vehicle, and opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun, reloading at least twice, seemingly indiscriminately.
Two people were killed and two others were injured at a nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, early Friday after a verbal altercation escalated, city police said.
A shooting in Chicago early Monday morning left five people with gunshot wounds, including a 15-year-old girl who was shot in the neck and is in serious condition, according to the Chicago Police Department. The other victims are listed in "fair condition." A suspect fled the scene on foot after shooting the victims.
A man died in a shootout with police in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday night after he barricaded himself inside a home and killed his parents, authorities alleged. He also injured a deputy, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
Early Saturday, six people were shot in Lathrup Village, Michigan, four of whom had wounds not believed to be life-threatening.
Two others who police said were shot "multiple times" were listed in critical condition at a hospital. Both are expected to survive but "will have a long road to recovery," police said.
Police said Sunday that they believe it was an "isolated, targeted attack" and that there is no threat to the public.
Five people were wounded Saturday evening in a shooting at Bramble Park in Cincinnati, police said. One person was in critical condition, and the four others were in non-life-threatening condition.
Police are asking for help from the public to "quickly identify those responsible for this heinous act."
Last month, over Mother’s Day weekend, at least 11 people were killed in shootings across the country. Roughly two weeks later, dozens were either killed or injured in shootings over the Memorial Day weekend.
NBC Chicago reported that at least nine people were killed and 41 others were injured in shootings across the city that weekend. Three shootings in St. Paul, Minnesota, injured 10 people between two graduation parties and another gathering over the holiday, according to NBC affiliate KARE.
