9 teenagers injured in shooting at prom after-party in Texas

By ACACIA CORONADO
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gunfire at a huge prom after-party at a home in Texas injured nine teenagers, and a second shooting in a nearby city is being investigated for a possible connection, officials said.

Sheriff’s deputies in Jasper County, in East Texas, arrived in the wee hours of Sunday at a home where about 250 people were partying, authorities said. They found nine victims with gunshot wounds that didn’t appear to be life-threatening, according to a statement by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.

Eight people were taken in personal vehicles to Jasper Memorial Hospital, and at least one of them was transferred to a hospital in nearby Beaumont, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Karli Cherry said. One person did not go to the hospital, she said.

A second shooting within the city of Jasper occurred shortly after the first, the statement said. There were no injuries in the second shooting, but a connection is being investigated because of a “common vehicle at both locations,” the statement said.

According to the statement, “people of interest are being questioned,” and the investigation is ongoing.