People celebrating the occasion started running after hearing gunshots.
Eight people were injured in a shooting incident at Martin Luther King Jr event in Florida on Monday, according to a report in CNN. More than 1,000 people had gathered in Fort Pierce for the event where gunfire rang out at 5.23 pm (local time), the outlet further said. All eight who were shot were adults and were rushed to the hospital after the incident. One of them is said to be in a critical condition, sheriff’s office chief deputy Brian Hester said during a press conference.
“As the shots rang out, people were just running in all directions,” said Mr Hester.
“There were people laying behind cars, laying behind anything they could lay behind. It was kind of hard to tell who was a victim and who was just hiding at that point,” he added.
One of the injured is believed to be a juvenile, who was hurt as people rushed to leave the event venue, the sheriff’s office further said.
Car shows, dance performances and children’s activities were part of celebrations to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day.
The videos of the incident have been posted on social media and one of them shows people dancing on cars and enjoying music when gunfire sounds begins to resonate.
Watch the video:
MLK Day Mass shooting in Fort Pierce Florida. Sheriff’s Office confirmed 8 shot, 1 critical and others injured in the chaos after shots fired, including a child. pic.twitter.com/uGl9Ff1f6L
— J (@jshark305) January 17, 2023
Two sheriff’s deputies who were nearby ran towards the site of the shooting and provided help t those injured. Mr Hester said that several witnesses also joined them in driving people to hospital.
This was the 30th mass shooting incident in the US this year, said the CNN report. Citing data from non-profit organization Gun Violence Archive, the US is averaging about two mass shootings per day.
Gun Violence Archive defines mass shooting in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.
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