A massive manhunt is ongoing in rural Vienna, Georgia, after a mass shooting early Sunday morning left two people dead and 35 others wounded during an unsanctioned homecoming gathering that drew roughly 1,000 attendees.
Local law enforcement officials confirmed the violence erupted just after 1:30 a.m. local time along Pine Street, where crowds had assembled for an unofficial Dooly High School homecoming block party. Though the event was not organized or sponsored by the school district, the gathering was large enough that Dooly County Sheriff’s Office deputies had already been deployed at both ends of the gathering to monitor the crowd when gunfire broke out.
According to Sheriff Craig Peavy, initial reports from attendees confused the first series of gunshots for fireworks, until word spread that a person had been struck by gunfire. Chaos erupted immediately, with hundreds of attendees scrambling in all directions to escape the gunfire. Eyewitness Ashley Gee, who was present at the event, told local outlet the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the rapid succession of shots sounded indistinguishable from machine gun fire. Investigators estimate more than 50 rounds were fired during the incident.
Two male victims, aged 20 and 23, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their bodies were found several blocks from the central site of the shooting, Dooly County Coroner Brett Walls confirmed to CBS News, the US media partner of the BBC. Autopsies for both deceased victims will be conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Medical Examiner’s Office.
Of the 35 injured people, 25 were transferred to multiple nearby medical facilities for treatment, with several remaining in critical condition as of the latest update. Victims range in age from 14 to 51 years old, spanning both teenage attendees and adult community members.
As of the latest update, no suspects have been taken into custody, and investigators have not yet identified a clear motive for the attack. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has been called in to assist local authorities with the active, ongoing investigation, a spokesperson for the bureau confirmed.
In a statement following the tragedy, Dooly High School officials extended their condolences to everyone impacted by the violence. “Our hearts are with the families grieving the loss of loved ones, those who were injured, and everyone affected by this tragedy,” the statement read. The shooting adds to the ongoing national crisis of gun violence in the United States, where mass public shootings have become increasingly frequent in community and public gathering spaces in recent years.