Mass shooting again in the United States leaves 1 dead and 8 injured in Pennsylvania

 

Mass shooting again in the United States leaves 1 dead and 8 injured in Pennsylvania Community Center 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

One person was killed and at least eight were injured in a mass shooting Sunday at a community center in Pennsylvania where over 150 people were attending a private party, police officials said.

Law enforcement responded to the Chevy Chase Community Center in White Township, about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, around 12:35 a.m. Nine people, between the ages of 18 to 23, were shot, including a 22-year-old Pittsburgh man who died at the scene, police said.

No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting and little information has been released about potential suspects. During a news conference Sunday afternoon, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said investigators believe more than one shooter was involved; however, he did not say how many were involved.

Bivens said investigators believe the events were “isolated to the attendees at that party” and did not believe there was a threat to any nearby communities, despite no arrests being made.

Mounted unit arrived as suspected gunmen opened fire

Police were first called to the community center a half hour before the shooting began following an excessive noise complaint. A state police mounted unit was sent out to monitor the event.

When they got there, police heard gunshots inside, called for backup, and then heard more gunshots and saw people fleeing from doors and windows. Some began to aid injured victims “collapsing outside the building,” and others went inside and found more victims, Bivens said.

At the time of the shooting, more than 150 people were believed to be present at the event, and the building wasn’t particularly large and would have been “very full” at the time.

“You can imagine the chaos that would ensue from a number of gunshots in a relatively confined space,” Bivens said. “People dove through windows, people ran through doors, ran through porch railings, trying to get away from that scene.”

Neighbors said there were 'people everywhere crying and screaming'

Neighbor Robert Miller said he and his wife heard loud music coming from the community center as they were getting ready to go to bed.

“Then all of a sudden, I heard about 20 gunshots,” Miller told the Tribune-Review. “There was people lying on the edge of the sidewalk out there. It’s terrifying.”

His wife, Ellen Ober, said, “There were people everywhere crying and screaming.”

Among the injured was an 18-year-old man from Chicago, who was critically injured, and an 18-year-old man from Florida, according to a news release from the Pennsylvania State Police. The others who were shot were all from Pennsylvania: three men ages 19, 20 and 22; two 19-year-old women; and a 23-year-old woman.

Two of the young adults injured were students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which is less than three miles from the venue.

The wounded were taken to hospitals throughout Pennsylvania. Six remain hospitalized, one critically, while two had been treated and released, police said later Sunday.

At the scene of the shooting, police recovered "multiple firearms," many shell casings as well as clothing and cell phones.

There have been at least 540 mass shootings in the United States with at least four victims since Jan. 1, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit publicly sourced database that defines a mass shooting as at least four people struck by gunfire, not including the shooter.