9 children, ages 5 to 17, shot at Georgia gas station
02/20/2023 5:58 pm PST
COLUMBUS, Ga. (TCD) -- Police are searching for answers and information after nine juveniles were shot at a gas station late Friday night.
According to the Columbus Police Department, on Feb. 17, at 10:11 p.m., officers were dispatched to the Shell Gas Station located on the 4400 block of Warm Springs Road and found "several gunshot victims and a large group of people."
Detectives from the department's Robbery and Assault Unit arrived at the scene and took over the investigation. Columbus Police said the victims all sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were being treated at local hospitals.
The victims include two 13-year-old females, a 5-year-old male, 12-year-old male, 13-year-old male, 14-year-old male, two 15-year-old males, and a 17-year-old male.
Columbus Police Chief Freddie Blackmon wrote in a statement, "The rash of gun violence involving our youth is impacting communities across the country. While Columbus is not immune to these incidents, I want to assure citizens that the men and women of CPD are tirelessly working to get violent offenders off our streets. It is going to take a community effort to combat gun violence in our city. The entire village has a responsibility because incidents like this impacts all of us."
In a news briefing Saturday, Feb. 18, Blackmon said the shooting occurred following an altercation at a party nearby. No arrests have been made.
The Friday night incident at the gas station marked a violent weekend for Columbus, which saw eight shootings and five deaths over the course of three days, WRBL-TV reports.
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