Five people were shot at a Texas park where hundreds were reported to have gathered on Sunday evening, Fort Worth police said.
Fort Worth police officers responded to the Village Creek Park at around 7 p.m. local time on Sunday. Officials said witnesses described fireworks going off in the park after which they heard around 30 rounds of gunfire. Police said it was not clear if there was one shooter or multiple people with guns.
Two people were critically injured, while three had non-life-threatening injuries. All five victims were expected to recover, officials said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Officer Buddy Calzada said at a news briefing on Sunday night that police did not yet have information on suspects or the circumstances of the shooting, but said it "may be" related to an earlier shooting incident that took place nearby.
Before the shooting began, officers were in the park to address city ordinance violations, including people riding ATV's and drinking alcohol, while also attempting to disperse the crowd, Calzada said in a statement Monday. Police initially estimated the crowd consisted of about 600 people but later revised that number to 400.
Fort Worth officers and a supervisor were using their public address systems and sirens to encourage the crowd to disperse when gunshots rang out, causing people to flea the area, Calzada said.
A video posted on Twitter appeared to show a crowd of people running in different directions with some taking cover behind cars.
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The gang unit of the Fort Worth Police Department is continuing to investigate the shooting with assistance from state and federal authorities.
Calzada could not say why hundreds of people had gathered at the park during the coronavirus pandemic, but said that they made a "choice."
Fort Worth parks, trails, and golf courses are open "provided individuals comply with the six-feet social distancing requirement," according to the city's website.
"We've been stating that everybody should follow the rules that have been set out," Calzada said. "But ultimately, people have a choice. And that's just the choice they made tonight."
Gov. Greg Abbott began reopening the state on May 1, allowing all retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and malls to open with limited capacity.
On May 5, he issued an executive order to open additional businesses and activities in the state. There are more than 38,000 coronavirus cases confirmed in Texas with 1,088 deaths, according to the state's health department. In Fort Worth, there were 1,430 coronavirus cases and 58 deaths as of May 8.