EMS couldn’t respond to a shooting at a park in Indiana because they were responding to a shooting at a mall
By Michelle Watson, CNN
Some emergency responders in Beech Grove, Indiana, couldn’t go to the scene of a shooting at a park Sunday because they were responding to a shooting at a mall, the city’s mayor said.
“Our Beech Grove EMS … believe it or not, was not available for this incident,” Mayor Dennis Buckley said at a Monday news conference. “Because our ambulances were down helping people at the Greenwood mall.”
An unidentified gunman killed three people and injured two others at Greenwood Park Mall on Sunday evening. An armed witness shot and killed the assailant in that shooting, police said.
A few hours later in Beech Grove, at around 9:30 p.m., authorities responded to a report of shots fired at Don Challis Park. Beech Grove is about 11 miles from Greenwood.
“We do know that there were dozens of rounds fired in the park,” Beech Grove Deputy Police Chief Tom Hurrle said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies came to the scene to assist, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, authorities said.
The pair of shootings came as the nation grapples with a string of high-profile mass shootings, including the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and the July 4th parade attack in Highland Park, Illinois.
There have been 350 mass shootings this year, according to Gun Violence Archive. Like CNN, the archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.
When police arrived at the park they found multiple gunshot victims. At least one person was killed and three people were injured in the Sunday night shooting, Hurrle said. The three injured victims were transferred to local hospitals and are in stable condition, he said.
The suspects’ vehicle is a white Toyota Camry, that may have had a window shot out, authorities said. The gunfire may have been started by two women arguing, officials said, but the investigation is ongoing.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
