(NEW YORK) — A grocery store, a park, a church and a flea market were among the locations where gunfire erupted over the weekend in eight U.S. cities, leaving at least 65 people shot, 17 fatally.
The shootings came over a violent 72-hour stretch and included multiple victims in all of the episodes, prompting elected leaders in two of the cities to impose new curfews.
The most devastating incident occurred Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, New York, when a white man wielding an AR-15-style rifle allegedly shot 13 people, 10 fatally, at a supermarket in what investigators suspect was a “racially motivated hate crime” targeting Black people.
21 injured in Milwaukee
The weekend of violence began Friday night in Milwaukee when 21 people were shot in three separate incidents that occurred in the downtown Deer District, where an estimated crowd of 11,000 people had gathered outside the Fiserv Forum to cheer on the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA team’s playoff game against the Boston Celtics.
Milwaukee police said a confrontation broke out on the street between two groups and led to an exchange of gunfire that left 17 people injured. Over the next two-hour period, two other shootings left four additional people wounded.
One person, a 19-year-old man, was taken into custody, police said.
As a result of the shootings, city leaders imposed an 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. temporary curfew on Saturday and Sunday in the downtown entertainment area for people under 21 years old and threatened anyone caught breaking curfew with a $691 fine.
5 shot, 2 fatally, in Dallas
Just as bars and nightclubs were closing around 2 a.m. Friday in Dallas’ Deep Ellum entertainment district, gunfire erupted, police said. Five people were shot, two fatally, near a barbecue truck where people were lined up, police said.
The Dallas Police Department said the shooting started when a man standing on the sidewalk near the barbecue was confronted by two other men. Police said the men all drew firearms and fired at each other, leaving all three men wounded as well as two innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.
No arrests have been announced.
Buffalo mass shooting leaves 10 dead
A Tops Supermarket was busy with shoppers when an 18-year-old white man wearing camouflage clothing, a helmet, body armor and armed with a Bushmaster XM-15 semiautomatic rifle allegedly shot 13 people, 10 fatally. Investigators believe the assailant, who surrendered to police, was motivated by hate and was aiming to kill as many Black people as possible.
Police said 11 of the 13 people shot were Black, including the 10 killed.
3 shot, 1 fatally, in and around Chicago’s Millennium Park
A 16-year-old boy was fatally shot in the chest around 7:30 p.m. Saturday near “The Bean” sculpture in Chicago Millennium Park, a major tourist attraction.
A 17-year-old boy, allegedly armed with a ghost gun, a weapon with no serial number and can’t be traced, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Police said the shooting happened as hundreds of unruly teens took over Millennium Park and began flooding nearby the streets, where two other young people were shot and wounded. Chicago police said 26 minors and five adults were arrested in the park for unlawful disturbances Saturday evening and that officers seized eight guns.
The shooting prompted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to declare a curfew barring juveniles 17 and under who are unaccompanied by an adult from entering Millennium Park after 6 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.
5 shot, 1 fatally, at church in Orange County, California
One person was killed and five were wounded in a shooting at a church in Laguna Woods, California, on Sunday, authorities said.
Four people were critically hurt and one person suffered minor injuries from the shooting inside the Geneva Presbyterian Church, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. All victims are adults and range in age from 66 to 92, the sheriff’s office said.
On Monday, the Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said evidence indicates the shooting was a “politically motivated hate crime” against the Taiwanese community. Four of the five victims in the shooting held Taiwanese citizenship, the sheriff’s office said.
The suspect, identified Monday through Orange County jail records as 68-year-old Las Vegas resident David Chou, was detained by churchgoers who hogtied his legs and held him for police, authorities said.
7 shot in Winston-Salem
Seven people were injured near a park in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, when a fight broke out around 8 p.m. Sunday and multiple people fired more than 50 shots, including bullets that hit two men in a moving car on nearby Highway 52.
No arrests have been made.
5 shot, 1 fatally, in Amarillo, Texas
Five people were shot, one fatally, when gunfire broke out early Sunday at an after-hours club in Amarillo, Texas, police said.
The Amarillo Police Department said there were possibly 75 to 100 people inside the club when the shooting began. Police said they are investigating whether the shooting is related to another shooting that occurred earlier Sunday at a different nightclub.
No arrests have been made.
5 shot, 2 fatally, at Houston flea market
A fight between two groups of people led to a shooting Sunday that left two men dead and three others hurt at a busy Houston flea market, where thousands of people were shopping, authorities said.
The incident unfolded around 1 p.m. at the popular Sunny Flea Market held at the Tia Pancha Center in North Houston, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
All five people shot were involved in a fight and several are suspected of allegedly pulling guns and firing, sparking panic and causing innocent bystanders, including children, to run or dive for cover, the sheriff’s office said.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
