Wichita police have responded to 12 incidents at the same nightclub in the past year.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The authorities reported that at least seven people were shot and another two were trampled after the dawn of Sunday registered a shooting among several patrons of a nightclub located in Wichita, Kansas.
Lt. Aaron Moses, executive officer of the Wichita Police Department, told a news conference that at least four weapons were fired during the wild shooting that broke out at 12:58 a.m. inside the City Nightz nightclub in the Old Town section of Wichita.
“Our investigation has shown us that at least four firearms were discharged inside the establishment during this incident,” he said according to ABC News.
Moses pointed out that an individual suspected of being one of the gunmen who opened fire inside the nightclub has been detainedwhile investigators are working to identify other people involved in the shooting.
The shooting came despite an increased police presence in the Old Town area due to previous issues, including a shooting in May that killed a 19-year-old woman, authorities said.
Officers were patrolling outside of City Nightz when they “heard a ruckus and screaming inside the business. Later they saw a large number of people leave the business,” Moses said.
“Through that chaos…we ended up identifying, at this point, seven shooting victims and two traumatic injury victims. We believe that all of the injuries occurred within the business,” he added.
He said the two people who suffered traumatic injuries, a 30-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, were trampled in the mass struggle to escape gunfire.
At least four weapons were seized from inside the nightclub and police were analyzing them to determine if any of them were used in the shooting, Moses said.
The shooting victims included two women and five men between the ages of 21 and 34.
Five of the victims were taken to hospitals by ambulance, while the others went to emergency rooms on their own. One of the injured people was in critical condition, while the others are expected to survive non-life-threatening injuries, Moses said.
“As the mayor of the city of Wichita, we have to take action to counter this increase in gun violence that we have been seeing,” said the Mayor Brandon Whipple at a press conference on Sunday.
“We have to come together as a community and talk to our youth, in particular, that resorting to gun violence is not a way to solve any of the problems or issues,” he added.
Witchita Police Chief Joe Joe Sullivan said he was upset to learn that so many weapons were used or confiscated inside the nightclub.
“There is going to be an extensive investigation to find out how the firearms got into this club and who is responsible for bringing them there,” Sullivan said.
Detective Chris Merceau of the Wichita Police Department said at Sunday’s news conference that police have responded to 12 incidents associated with City Nightz in the past yearincluding investigating cases of aggravated assault and a drive-by shooting on May 21.
Keep reading:
