By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) – Gunfire erupted at a park in Greenbelt, Maryland, where hundreds of high school students had gathered while skipping school on Friday, wounding five men between the ages of 16 and 18, police said.
One victim was in critical condition and the others were in stable condition, Greenbelt Police Chief Richard Bowers told a news conference.
Police were looking for one suspect, but there could be more, Bowers said. No motive had been established.
“There is absolutely no reason why this happened. It’s senseless, it’s chronic in our society and we have to do something to stop it,” Bowers said. “It’s maddening, honestly.”
There have been 120 such mass shootings in the United States in the first 110 days of this year, defined as an incident in which four or more people were shot or killed, not including the shooter, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
An estimated 500 to 600 students from at least two high schools converged on the park on what is known as senior skip day, when students in their senior year of high school skipped classes, Bowers said.
About 20 officers had been on the scene for about 15 minutes after responding to the sudden gathering on social media before the shooting broke out, Bowers said. They were able to provide first aid before the ambulance arrived.
“That could be the difference between someone who makes it to the hospital and someone who doesn’t,” Bowers said.
Greenbelt is a city of about 24,000 residents located about 13 miles northeast of Washington.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
