Nine people, mostly teens from the towns of Jasper and Newton, were injured in a shooting that took place at an after-prom party in the city of Jasper, Texas, on Sunday morning.
Upon arriving at the scene, law enforcement officers discovered the injured and had them transferred to nearby hospitals for medical treatment. In response to the incident, Jasper Independent School District Superintendent John Seybold released a statement, indicating that the district is working with local authorities and extra security measures will be implemented this week for the sake of student safety.
Jasper County Sheriff Mitchel Newman reported that all of the victims were from the surrounding areas, and though officers have identified persons of interest, no arrests have been made as of Sunday at noon.
Furthermore, Lieutenant Garret Foster from the Jasper Police Department stated that while attending to those wounded at Jasper Memorial Hospital, officers heard shots being fired in the vicinity. However, no one was seen discharging firearms and a few houses and cars had been struck earlier in the morning.
In addition, it appears that two men had been shooting at each other in a separate incident, and locals reported hearing around twelve gunshots. The sheriff’s office was able to stop the gunmen, but no arrests were made.
Jasper has a population of 8,500 and the investigation into the after-prom shooting is still ongoing. Authorities are doing their best to locate the responsible party and ensure that students in the area are safe.