A 22-year-old man was killed and eight other young people were injured when gunshots rang out during a packed party at a Pennsylvania community center over the weekend, police said.
Officers responding to a noise complaint at the Chevy Chase Community Center in White Township arrived just moments before the shooting broke out at around midnight on Sunday.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said “dozens of gunshots” were fired inside the building, adding investigators believe there was more than one shooter, though he did not specify how many might have been involved.
Partygoers fled for their lives in the ensuing chaos, diving through windows and running through porch railings, police said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
When it was over, a Pittsburgh man was dead and eight others were shot, all between the ages of 18 and 23. The surviving victims were taken to hospitals across the state.
As of Sunday evening, six of the victims remained hospitalized, including an 18-year-old Chicago man in critical condition.
Two of the injured were students from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which was hosting its homecoming weekend just two miles from the community center located about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Bivens said it was likely more than 150 people were at the party, which would have made the relatively small building “very full” at the time of the shooting.
Police found “multiple firearms” at the event space, which was littered with shell casings as well as personal items like clothing and cell phones left behind by attendees in the rush to escape the melee.
Robert Miller, who lives next to the community center with his wife, told the Tribune-Review the couple heard loud music emanating from the building as they were getting ready for bed.
“Then all of a sudden, I heard about 20 gunshots,” he told the outlet. “There was people lying on the edge of the sidewalk out there. It’s terrifying.”
Officials are still investigating who hosted the party, which required an entry fee to attend, as well as who rented out the venue.
No suspects have been arrested yet, but Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to arrests and prosecution. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has offered up to $5,000 more.
With Post wires
