Nine teenagers were shot early Sunday, April 23 at an after-prom party in Jasper, Texas, USA prompting an increased police presence at the town's high school this week, officials said.
Shortly after midnight on Sunday, deputies responded to a disturbance with shots fired on County Road 263 north of Jasper, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
"Upon arrival, nine
victims were found to have non-life-threatening injuries," the statement
said. "The incident erupted at an after-prom party that was being held
at the residence on County Road 263. Most victims were transported to
Jasper Memorial Hospital, and some were transferred to Christus St.
Elizabeth for further treatment."
The sheriff's office said the investigation is ongoing and people of interest are being questioned.
Jasper, a city of about 6,800 people, is located in the Deep East Texas subregion, about 40 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana state line.
This
incident comes on the heels of a string of high-profile mass shootings.
Last weekend, a Sweet 16 birthday party in rural Dadeville, Alabama,
left four dead and 32 others injured.
On Friday, the Alabama
Law Enforcement Agency announced its sixth arrest in connection to the
investigation. The suspects range in age from 15 to 20.
Those
killed were two graduating high school seniors, including the football
star brother of the birthday girl, as well as a 19-year-old and a
23-year-old former athlete.
