Three people have died and eight others were injured in a shooting southwest of downtown Fort Worth Monday night, the Fort Worth Police Department wrote in a statement acquired by TheBlaze.
“Fireworks were being shot off, lots of people just trying to flee the area from the multiple gunshots, so it was difficult for them to navigate quickly into the area,” Capt. Shawn Murray of the Fort Worth Police Department said at a news conference, as reported by the New York Times.
Capt. Murray said it is not yet known if the shooting was gang-related or related to domestic dispute.
Several hundred people had gathered for an annual Independence Day celebration called ComoFest in the Como neighborhood of Fort Worth. The celebration was set to end at 10 p.m. Shots rang out around 11:45, KDFW reported.
“I am devastated by the news of a mass shooting in Fort Worth last night. My heart breaks for the victims, their loved ones, and the entire Como community that works to build positivity and celebration in their community and our city,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning.
West Division officers located multiple shooting victims in a parking lot when they were dispatched to the area of 3400 Horne Street for a shooting call, according to the statement.
Several victims were transported by private vehicles to area hospitals for medical treatment, and several more were transported by ambulance.
Medical personnel pronounced one person deceased at the scene.
Of the 11 victims, three have died. The condition of the others is unknown. Ten of the victims are adults and one is a juvenile.
Cynthia Santos, 22, was among the victims who died at the hospital, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
The people connected with the violence were from outside the historic Como neighborhood, residents told told WFAA reporter Megan Mitchell. Twelve hours after the horrific incident, families gathered along the street for a parade celebrating Independence Day.
“That’s the reason we started ComoFest, to create a different narrative where people could go back to community … on the Fourth of July parade, we never had any incidents,” a ComoFest organizer told the outlet.
Watch coverage from WFAA below of the shooting in the historic Como neighborhood of Fort Worth, Texas, Monday night that left three people dead and eight others injured, including a juvenile.
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