UPDATE — Monday, Oct. 5: Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy has identified the two people killed as 21-year-old Jaquevion Jackson of Cordele and 23-year-old Macaleb Jackson of Hawkinsville, according to CNN and the Associated Press. Dooly County Coroner Brett Walls confirmed the identifications. Peavy did not say whether the two men were related. Peavy said more than 50 shots were fired at two locations about a block apart on Pine Street. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the 35 injured victims range in age from 14 to 51, with conditions from stable to critical; most suffered gunshot wounds while others were hit by cars or injured fleeing. No suspects have been identified, no arrests announced, and no motive disclosed. The Dooly County School System said the gathering was not a school-sponsored event. NCN's inquiry to the GBI remains pending.
VIENNA, Ga. — Two people were killed and 35 others were injured in a mass shooting at a homecoming block party in Vienna, Georgia, early Sunday morning, officials said.
Gunfire erupted around 1:25 a.m. Sunday on Pine Street in Vienna, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Dooly County sheriff's deputies who were patrolling the gathering responded immediately and found multiple people who had been shot, including two who were pronounced dead at the scene, the bureau said in a statement.
The 35 injured survivors were taken to multiple regional hospitals, the GBI said.
Dooly County Coroner Brett Walls told USA Today the two men killed were ages 20 and 23. Their names have not been released, and autopsies will be performed by the GBI Medical Examiner's Office in the coming days, the coroner said.
Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy said more than 1,000 people had gathered for the block party, which coincided with the local high school's homecoming festivities. He said the party was almost over when the gunfire broke out, and that some victims were hit by gunfire while others were struck by vehicles as the crowd scattered. Shots were fired from at least two locations about a block apart, the sheriff said, and gunfire was still ringing out as deputies worked the scene.
"Even while we were on scene, there was still gunfire about a block away," Peavy said.
GBI Special Agent in Charge Jerry Jones said investigators were not yet prepared to identify a suspect or suspects and asked anyone who was at the scene to come forward. "The crime scene is ongoing, probably will be going for the next several hours," Jones said.
The Dooly County Sheriff's Office requested the GBI's assistance with the investigation. Once investigators complete the case file, it will be turned over to the Cordele Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office for review.
Anyone with information can contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Perry at (478) 987-4545. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online, or through the See Something, Send Something mobile app, officials said.
This is a developing story. NCN will update as official information becomes available.
- National Correspondent Network
