Seven people were shot overnight at a nightclub in Ashburn, Georgia, police say.
Nobody was killed in the shooting, which broke out at Studio 2.0 – a recently opened nightclub, about 2.30am, but all victims have been taken to hospital. One victim was airlifted to a hospital in Macon.
GBI Special Agent J.T. Ricketson told 11 Alive when police arrived to calls of shots fired, there were seven people wounded and bullet casings littered around the carpark.
Three cars had blown out windows, believed to be from gunfire, and police found evidence people under 21 had been drinking and smoking marijuana. The club does not yet have a liquor license.
Eight people were shot at a nightclub in Georgia on Friday night. So far there are no fatalities, but all eight were taken to hospital
Pictured: Police begin to sweep the road for bullet casings and other evidence on Saturday
Distressed locals have taken to social media to discuss what they believe to be the case, with many blaming a ‘county vs county’ party held last night.
One woman claimed people from two different areas with a bitter rivalry were to blame for the shooting.
Distressed locals believe a ‘county v county’ party may have escalated tensions between rival groups, which led to the horrific shooting on Friday
Another woman, who is understood to have been at Friday night’s party said on Facebook that when the shooting began, everyone in the area tried to escape.
She said the shooting was a ‘horrible tragedy’, and in other statuses said she had seen blood and people ‘laying out’.
‘All that keep flashing through my head is the horrible tragedy last night – seeing people running; jumping in trunks; on the back of trucks shooting; almost getting ran over, and just laying there helpless,’ she wrote.
‘[It] was so scary it all seem [sic] like it was a movie. Praying for everyone involved… God is in control.’
Police confirmed the party, which had an attendance of up to 200, had attracted the wrong sorts of people.
A spokesman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said members of two local gangs – ‘The Shine Boys’ from Cordele and ‘The Glow Boys’ from Ashburn, also attended.
Investigators believe a dispute between the two gangs is what led to the horrific shooting.
Two blocks around the nightclub have been closed off as police launch their investigation.
So far, investigators have no suspects or leads as to who was behind the attack and their motive.
If you have any information, please call Ashburn Police at (229) 567-2323.
The road outside the nightclub is closed and could be for some time