Nine children, one as young as 4, injured in mass shooting at Georgia gas station
COLUMBUS, GEORGIA: A mass shooting at a petrol station in Columbus, Georgia, injured nine youngsters in the age group of 5 to 17. According to authorities, gunfire broke out at a Shell gas station on Warm Springs Road shortly after 10 pm on Friday, February 17, 2023.
Nine people were rushed to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. They include a four-year-old boy, a 12-year-old boy, two 13-year-old girls, one 13-year-old boy, one 14-year-old boy, two 15-year-old boys, and one 17-year-old boy, the Independent reported.
READ MORE
A large group gathered at gas station
As per the report, a large number of people in a group were gathered at the gas station, the reasons for which remain unclear as of now. Investigators, however, were still working to determine what led to the shooting.
Although the police have scheduled a press conference at 12.45 local time, no other information has been released about any suspects. The police say no arrests have been made as of Saturday morning.
'The rash of gun violence involving our youth is impacting communities across the country'
“The rash of gun violence involving our youth is impacting communities across the country,” Columbus police chief Freddie Blackmon said as per the outlet. “While Columbus is not immune to these incidents, I want to assure citizens that the men and women of CPD are tirelessly working to get violent offenders off our streets. It is going to take a community effort to combat gun violence in our city. The entire village has a responsibility because incidents like this impact all of us.”
Six killed in Mississippi shooting rampage
On Friday, a man, Richard Dale Crum, armed with three guns fatally shot his ex-wife and five others during a rampage in a small rural town in Coldwater Mississippi, police say. The rampage began when the gunman entered a petrol station convenience store at around 11:00 local time and shot a man to whom he had no apparent connection, Sheriff Brad Lance said as per CNN.
He then went to a nearby home where he fatally shot his ex-wife and, struck but did not shoot her fiance. Investigators say the gunman then drove to a home next to his own residence and fatally shot a man who may have been his stepfather, as well as an unnamed woman. He then shot two people, one inside a car and one on the road, not far from his own home. The final two victims appear to have been construction workers on a job at the site, according to Sheriff Lance.
Richard was arrested after the alleged rampage and is facing charges of first-degree murder in connection with the case, the sheriff’s office said. Additional charges are expected to be filed, the department said. As per the gun violence archive, 24 killings have happened in shootings since February 1 in at least 22 incidents across different cities.
