(GoRealNewsNow.com) – HAPPENING NOW: This week, as people across the United States celebrated Independence Day, there were numerous mass shootings at gatherings like festivals and block parties in several cities.
The shootings occurred in Washington, D.C., Louisiana, Florida, Philadelphia, Texas, and Baltimore. Sadly, these incidents resulted in at least 15 deaths and nearly 60 injuries, with some victims as young as two.
Late Tuesday night, a shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, left three people dead and ten others injured, according to Shreveport police Sgt. Angie Willhite. One victim was in critical condition on Wednesday, but the others were expected to recover. As of yet, no one has been arrested in connection to this shooting.
Sgt. Willhite said police were having trouble gathering information about the shooting as the people at the scene were not very cooperative. Police Chief Wayne Smith also reported the discovery of another body in the area on Wednesday morning, which he believes could be related to Tuesday night’s incident.
The location of the shooting has been a spot for annual Fourth of July block parties for over a decade, according to Shreveport City Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor.
Violence also erupted during Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C., where nine people were shot. This occurred early on Wednesday while people were outside enjoying the holiday.
The victims, which included a 9-year-old and a 17-year-old, were hospitalized, but their injuries were not life-threatening, said Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons of the Metropolitan Police Department. The shots were fired from a dark SUV that was seen in the area, and the police are still looking for the shooter or shooters.
In Tampa, Florida, a fight between two groups celebrating the Fourth of July resulted in a shooting tragically killing a 7-year-old boy. The boy was sitting in a truck with his grandfather when a bullet hit them both. The argument that led to the shooting was over Jet Skis coming too close to children in the water. Deputy Chief Calvin Johnson stated that the grandfather and the boy were not specifically targeted, and no arrests have been made yet.
In other communities, the violence began even before the holiday. In Philadelphia, a man wearing a bulletproof vest killed five people and injured two boys, aged 2 and 13, on Monday night. He later surrendered to the police.
Three people were killed, and eight others were injured in Texas when several men fired at a large crowd that had gathered after a local festival. This occurred in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como late Monday night, a couple of hours after the annual ComoFest ended.
Finally, on early Sunday in Baltimore, 30 people were shot, two fatally, at a block party. Many of the victims were children, according to authorities.
