Key takeaways:
- The two people killed were men ages 20 and 23; 35 others were injured, and 25 of them were hospitalized.
- Deputies heard gunfire at about 1:25 a.m. while patrolling a block party on Pine Street.
- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating and has not released information about a suspect or motive.
Two men were killed and 35 other people were injured when gunfire erupted at a homecoming block party in Vienna, Georgia, early Sunday, authorities said. Twenty-five of the injured were hospitalized, CBS News reported, citing officials who spoke to local media.
Dooly County sheriff’s deputies were patrolling the party when they heard shots at about 1:25 a.m., according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Deputies reached Pine Street and found multiple people who had been shot. The injured were taken to several hospitals in the region.
The two men who died were found several blocks from the Pine Street location where investigators said the shooting began, CBS News reported. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The Dooly County coroner told CBS News and NBC News that the men were 20 and 23 years old, though the outlets gave different surnames for the coroner. NBC News reported that each man had a single gunshot wound and that their families had been notified.
More than 1,000 people had gathered along Pine Street for the party, Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy told CBS affiliate WMAZ. Peavy said at least 50 shots were fired at two locations about a block apart. He also said some people were hit by cars as drivers scrambled to leave, according to WMAZ. Authorities have not said how many of the 35 injured people were wounded by gunfire or by vehicles.
The gathering was held to celebrate homecoming, Peavy told WMAZ. Local station WALB News 10 also described it as a homecoming party, according to NBC News.
Authorities had not publicly identified anyone killed or injured, CBS News reported. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had not released information about a possible suspect or motive. Asked by NBC News whether investigators had identified a suspect or determined a motive, the bureau declined to say.
“The investigation remains active and ongoing. At this time, no additional information is available for release,” bureau public affairs specialist Lydia Bullard said in a statement to NBC News.
The bureau joined the investigation at the request of the Dooly County Sheriff’s Office, which initially responded to the shooting. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct autopsies on the two men, according to CBS News. NBC News reported that the autopsies were scheduled for Friday.
Vienna is in Dooly County, about 50 miles south of Macon.
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