Five people were shot in Greenbelt, Maryland, during a high school senior skip day party at a park, police said in a Friday evening press conference.
The shooting happened at Hanover Parkway in Prince George’s County.
Hundreds of students were gathered for the party before shots rang out around 2:30 p.m., Greenbelt Police Chief Rick Bowers said.
“My heart breaks for them. These are just kids trying to have a good time,” Bowers said of the victims, who ranged in age from 16 to 18.
One of the victims was in critical condition, he said, while the others are in stable condition.
“This is a horrible, tragic, senseless act that happened today,” he added. “There is no reason that this occurred. These were seniors or senior skip day.”
Greenbelt Mayor Emmett V. Jordan echoed Bowers’ sentiment.
“If a group of high school students can not get together and have a good time, what is the world coming to?”
Bowers said no arrests have been made, but police believe there is one suspect who escaped when the shooting started.
“I’m pretty upset by this,” Bowers added as he, Jordan and the city manager vowed to catch the suspect while appealing to the public for help.
