6 teenagers hospitalised after park shooting near US high school
Six teenagers have been hospitalised after a shooting in a suburban park across the road from a high school in Aurora, Colorado.
The Aurora police department confirmed officers were at the scene of the shooting on Monday (local time) in a tweet.
Initially five people were taken to hospital with ages ranging from 14 to 17.
Police Chief Vanessa Wilson said one child was in "emergency surgery". She said a "lifesaving" tourniquet was applied by school medical staff.
Later on a sixth victim aged 18 went to hospital on their own with minor injuries.
All six teenagers were students at nearby Central High School which had been put into lockdown, but children were now being released to their parents.
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Chief Wilson said the latest shooting was part of a "public health crisis" being seen across the US.
"I think what we're seeing is a public health crisis when we think about gun violence," she said.
The police chief also said there were "multiple suspects" who were "at large" and no further information was available about them.
She said she understood "it was drive-by shooting as well as there may have been people on foot".
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"I need all of us to be outraged about what happened to today," she added, urging for the public to come forward with any information, including doorbell camera footage.
When asked about her first reaction to the incident, Chief Wilson said: "My heart dropped when I got the call... Enough is enough."
Three patients from the shooting were taken to Children's Hospital Colorado. They were in a stable condition and have all been reunited with their families, spokesperson Caitlin Jenney said.
The shooting comes after an 18-year-old died after being shot about five miles away on Sunday night.
A shooting was also reported in the car park of a shopping centre in Aurora on Friday, but police only found several shell casings when they arrived.
with AP
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