Yuma mass shooting: Victims Ande Blackthunder and Danny Garcia identified after 30 bullets fired at party
YUMA, ARIZONA: Two people who died at a weekend party in Yuma, Arizona, have been identified by the authorities. Over 30 shots were fired, which left two young men dead, and five teenagers injured. Yuma Police Chief Thomas Garrity said at a news conference on Monday afternoon, May 15, Ande Blackthunder, 20, and Danny Garcia, 19, were identified among the fatalities during the Saturday night party in the southeast Yuma neighborhood. The suspect Jose Lopez,18, was arrested and held in the Yuma County Adult Detention Center.
"The biggest thing I want the general public to understand is that this was not a random event," Garrity said. "Everyone knew each other. There was a party that got out of hand." The Police Chief shared that officials recovered several weapons from the scene and the investigation is ongoing to determine what led to the deadly shooting. Garrity appealed for anyone with relevant information to share with police about the incident, "We want to talk to everyone because we want to make sure that we get the people who are responsible for this and hold them responsible for this heinous event." The police have set a $1,000 reward if the information leads to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible, reports ABC News.
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'Party going out of hand'
The shooting started at around 10.54 pm on Saturday, where an altercation broke out at the party which ballooned from a few people in the beginning to over 100 after word of the party was posted on social media, briefed Garrity. "We can confirm that this was a house party that was going on and that all individuals involved in this are known to each other," Garrity said.
'A lot of parties going on throughout the Yuma community'
The police chief told the press, "That night, there were a lot of parties going on throughout the Yuma community with all the graduations and stuff. There was no indication that there was any type of violence going on, which would have made it a priority one call." He was referring to a noise complaint the authorities received almost an hour prior to the shooting, which was hosted by a relative of the owner of the house.