Afrasianet - At least 28 people have been injured in a shooting at an Arkansas night club, police said, adding that the incident appeared to be the result of “a dispute at the concert.” Twenty-five of the injured received gunshot wounds.
The incident took place at the Power Lounge night club in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas at around 2:30am local time.
“Police are investigating a shooting at the Power Lounge…, multiple victims, no suspect information is available,” Little Rock police tweeted.
Police initially said 17 people had been injured, but later put the number at 28, adding that none had suffered lethal injuries. The police also said that 25 of the victims had been shot.
“We do NOT believe this incident was an active shooter or terror related incident. It appears to have been a dispute at a concert,” the police added.
A witness told Fox16 that the shooting prompted “mass chaos, as people ran for safety hoping not to be shot.” Another local said he heard around 20 gunshots.
One victim who was previously listed in critical condition is now stable, police also said.
“I’m sick of all the killing and I’m tired of all the shooting, the kids getting hurt,” Rada Bunch, who was told that her son was at the club at the time of the incident, told the AP, saying she still has received little information about the shooting.
A 16-year-old is among the victims, Little Rock police chief Kenton Buckner said, as cited by USA Today.
“Certainly, during incidents such as this, emotions are very high. We need to be very careful with our words,” Buckner said, adding “this is a blip on the map that we certainly didn't need, considering the history that we've had over the past week.”
The US has witnessed several mass shootings in recent years. One of the deadliest occurred in Orlando, Florida in 2016, when a shooting left 49 people dead and dozens injured at the Pulse gay bar. The attacker, Omar Mateen, was killed by police after a three-hour stand-off. That massacre was considered a to be a hate crime and terrorist act.