Nine teens hurt in shooting at US after-prom party

Monitoring Desk

TEXAS: Nine teenagers were shot at and injured in a shooting at an after-prom party in the US state of Texas on Sunday.

Authorities in Jasper County were currently searching for “persons of interest” in the shooting early Sunday. Police officers responded to reports of gunfire at a home north of Jasper just after midnight.

They arrived to find nine victims with gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

The victims ranged in age from 15 to 19 years old.

Most of the wounded were rushed to Jasper Memorial Hospital by ambulance. Some were later transferred to Christus St Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont.

Few details are known about the shooting, including who is responsible and what triggered the gunfire, as the investigation is still in its early stages.

“We are working on leads and questioning people of interest,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.

The party was reportedly attended by students of Jasper High School, which held its prom earlier in the night.

Jasper Independent School District Superintendent John Seybold said there was no incident at the prom itself, and that most students had left by 9pm, according to KJAS.

The shooting came a week after four people were killed and 32 others injured in a shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama. Six suspects are facing charges for that attack.