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Investigators in the US state of Georgia are on the hunt for a suspect in a mass shooting that erupted in the early hours of Sunday, killing two people and injuring 35 more.<\/b><\/p>\n
A crowd of roughly 1,000 people had gathered for a block party in the southern rural community of Vienna when, according to officials, more than 50 shots were fired.<\/p>\n
Two of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while another 25 were transported to multiple nearby hospitals, some in critical condition. <\/p>\n
No known arrests have been made and authorities have not given a possible motive for the violence. Victims ranged in age from 14 to 51.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred on Sunday morning around 01:30 local time (05:30 GMT), during a Dooly High School homecoming celebration, <\/b>though it was not a school-sponsored event. <\/p>\n
“Our hearts are with the families grieving the loss of loved ones, those who were injured, and everyone affected by this tragedy,” the school said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Anticipating a large gathering, authorities from the Dooly County Sheriff’s Office were already positioned at both ends of the crowd as gunfire rang out. <\/p>\n
“Some people were reporting fireworks and then someone said somebody been shot,” Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy told local media.<\/p>\n
Peavy said officials then worked their way through the crowd, as people ran scrambling in different directions, while authorities made their way towards victims.<\/p>\n
Ashley Gee, who was there, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution news outlet that the barrage of gunfire sounded “like a machine gun”.<\/p>\n
Authorities arrived and found several people injured. The two deceased victims were found several blocks away from the scene of the shooting on Pine Street.<\/p>\n
Dooly County Coroner Brett Walls told the BBC’s US media partner, CBS News, the two killed were both men, ages 20 and 23.<\/p>\n
The Georgia Bureau of Investigations Medical Examiner’s Office said it would conduct an autopsy in each case.<\/p>\n
The bureau also said it would join the investigation at the request of the Dooly County Sheriff’s Office, describing operations as “active and ongoing”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n