7 hospitalized after shots fired at Lakewood, WA park
The Brief
Seven people were injured and hospitalized after a shooting at Harry Todd Park in Lakewood, which police believe stemmed from an argument between two groups.
A witness captured video of the chaos, initially mistaking the gunshots for fireworks, and described the panic as people ran for safety and searched for family members.
Lakewood Police are actively investigating the incident, following numerous tips to identify the shooter, while the community grapples with fear and shock from the senseless act.
LAKEWOOD, Wash. - It was a terrifying moment in Lakewood after gunshots rang out while families were enjoying a day at the park. Seven people were injured in the shooting, according to Lakewood Police.
As of Thursday, police were still investigating and searching for whoever was behind that shooting. Ariana Garrity took video of the chaos and confusion as she ran for safety.
She told FOX 13 Seattle that she and her friends thought they were hearing fireworks at first, but then saw people running toward the lake and realized it was a shooting.
What they're saying
Video shows people running in various directions, some ducking for cover, while others stand frozen in shock. All of this happened as gunshots pierced the air, one after another.
"I was like I need to stay out of the way, I need to be discreet and not draw attention to myself," Garrity said. "I just hear a bunch of people screaming, running in different directions, people looking for their family members and then when it was safer to go up, I went up and seen a body on the floor."
In a news release, Lakewood Police said, they believe this all started with some type of argument between two groups at Harry Todd Park just before 8 o'clock on Wednesday night. That escalated into a shooting that sent seven people to the hospital. Their ages range from 16 to 38 years old, according to police.
"When I saw that body I was like wow that could've been me, so I just kept running because I didn't want to be the next body," Garrity said. "What they did was senseless people were just trying to enjoy their day at the lake and you did this for what, now people are afraid to go out in public because of this senseless act."
Police have received numerous tips and said they are working through those to find who is behind this.
The Source
Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Shirah Matsuzawa.
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