Authorities in Massachusetts said seven people were shot early Sunday morning during a large gathering in a commercial area of Methuen.Methuen police Chief Scott McNamara said that at about 1:55 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to 100 Lindberg Ave. after multiple 911 callers reported a shooting in that area.Responding officers found seven people suffering from gunshot wounds. Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said two of the shooting victims remained in critical condition as of late Sunday morning.McNamara and Tucker said an eighth person suffered serious head injuries when they fell while running away from the scene.Tucker said the victims range in age from late teens to 22, and that one of them was flown to an area hospital by medical helicopter. Five of the seven victims who were hospitalized are in stable condition, according to the district attorney.McNamara said the shooting happened during a spontaneous meetup organized through social media. During these types of meetups, young people gather in an empty parking lot to party while listening to loud music, according to the police chief.”I want to reassure our community that while these spontaneous car club meetups — they don’t generally escalate to this type of violence — our policy has been and will continue to be to take law enforcement action wherever appropriate to discourage this activity from occurring in the first place,” McNamara said.Tucker said there were hundreds of people at this meetup when the shooting happened.”It’s pretty amazing that with the amount of ballistic evidence we’re recovering, that more people weren’t hurt,” the district attorney said.No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting at this time.”We have some evidence and some strong leads, but we don’t have a suspect at this time,” McNamara said.Tucker said anyone with information about the shooting should contact Methuen police.
Authorities in Massachusetts said seven people were shot early Sunday morning during a large gathering in a commercial area of Methuen.
Methuen police Chief Scott McNamara said that at about 1:55 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to 100 Lindberg Ave. after multiple 911 callers reported a shooting in that area.
Responding officers found seven people suffering from gunshot wounds. Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said two of the shooting victims remained in critical condition as of late Sunday morning.
McNamara and Tucker said an eighth person suffered serious head injuries when they fell while running away from the scene.
Tucker said the victims range in age from late teens to 22, and that one of them was flown to an area hospital by medical helicopter. Five of the seven victims who were hospitalized are in stable condition, according to the district attorney.
McNamara said the shooting happened during a spontaneous meetup organized through social media. During these types of meetups, young people gather in an empty parking lot to party while listening to loud music, according to the police chief.
“I want to reassure our community that while these spontaneous car club meetups — they don’t generally escalate to this type of violence — our policy has been and will continue to be to take law enforcement action wherever appropriate to discourage this activity from occurring in the first place,” McNamara said.
Tucker said there were hundreds of people at this meetup when the shooting happened.
“It’s pretty amazing that with the amount of ballistic evidence we’re recovering, that more people weren’t hurt,” the district attorney said.
No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting at this time.
“We have some evidence and some strong leads, but we don’t have a suspect at this time,” McNamara said.
Tucker said anyone with information about the shooting should contact Methuen police.
