Five teen boys were shot at a park and recreation center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Friday afternoon, authorities say.
About 500 to 600 people gathered at Schrom Hills Park and Schrom Hills Recreation Center for an unsanctioned senior skip day about 2:30 p.m. Officers were in the area to direct traffic and heard gunshots at about 3 p.m., police said.
“I feel fortunate that we already had so many officers on the scene that were there, and I’m sure that that helped reducing the number of victims in this incident,” Greenbelt City Manager Josue Salmeron said.
Hundreds of teens fled the park. Officers were able to quickly help five teens, ages 16 to 18, who were injured. Three of the five youths shot have been released from the hospital, while the condition of the most seriously injured has improved, authorities said Saturday.
A youth who was in critical condition on Friday was upgraded to stable condition, while another young person was still in stable condition, the police department said in a social media post.
“This is a horrible, senseless, tragic act that happened today,” Greenbelt Police Chief Richard Bowers said. “There is absolutely no reason that this occurred. It is senseless. It is chronic in our society, and we have to do something to stop it. These were kids on senior skip day who were looking to have a good time at a local park. And to have something like this occur, it’s just maddening, honestly.”
Police believe the shooter fled with the rest of the crowd.
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Video from Chopper4 shows a number of officers on the scene and the park blocked off. A playground can be seen.
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An investigation by Greenbelt police and Prince George’s County police is underway. Several water guns were collected as evidence.
Police in Greenbelt, Maryland, are asking the public to share video footage or other information connected to the shootings Friday at Schrom Hills Park. Investigators believe there was a single shooter who escaped in a crowd, but no arrests and no motive have been announced.
Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police. Police want to talk to teenagers at the gathering.
“This affects not only the city of Greenbelt, but our entire county, our entire state,” Bowers said. “These are kids, these are high school kids, and this is just unnecessary, unacceptable.”
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
