Eight people were wounded in a shooting at Boom Island Park in Minneapolis Monday night during an unofficial Fourth of July gathering, according to Minneapolis Park Police.
Some of the victims were in critical condition Tuesday morning, according to the Minneapolis Park Board.
Minneapolis Park Police, along with the Minneapolis Police Department, responded to a report of an unidentified person firing shots into the crowd at 11:30 p.m. on Monday. When they arrived at the scene, much of the crowd had already dispersed.
A witness at the scene told WCCO they heard what sounded like several gunshots.
“We were just watching fireworks and we heard a whole bunch of shots,” said Kaayla Laanaee. “I just heard them going over my head to the trees. I was just ducking by the lake.”
According to a summary on Citizen, radio transmissions from the scene indicated that police located two gunshot wound victims at the scene.
“After shots were fired, the large group that had gathered in the park dispersed, many leaving prior to police arriving,” the Park Board said in a news release. “A majority of the shooting victims later arrived at local hospitals on their own.”
A Park Board spokesperson said there was not a formal Fourth of July event or fireworks at the park, but people had gathered to celebrate the holiday.
Police have not released details about the victims and no arrests have been made. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call 612-230-6550.