GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with a shooting that injured five youths during a birthday party at an American Legion hall in Gainesville, police said.
A 17-year-old has been charged with attempted murder, police spokesman John Alexander told the Gainesville Sun.
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Officers responding to reports of gunfire late Thursday found four teenagers injured outside the building and a fifth teenager inside. Four were in stable condition at a hospital on Friday, while the fifth was being treated for serious injuries, police said.
Adults were present at what appeared to be a party for teenagers, the newspaper reported.
The names, ages or conditions of the teens have not been released.
Darry Lloyd, an investigator and spokesman for the Eighth Circuit State Attorney’s Office, told the Sun that gunfire occurred when another group showed up at the party.
“It was a birthday party for a teen,” Lloyd said. “I don’t know the number of participants, but at some point a group came in that had some kind of conflict with another group and you end up with gunfire. It doesn’t make any kind of sense.”
A short time later, an Alachua County sheriff’s deputy spotted a car that matched the description of one associated with the shooting. The deputy tried to pull the car over, but the driver wouldn’t stop, according to spokesman Art Forgey.
He said the deputies laid stop sticks across the road, which deflated a tire, and the car eventually stopped. Two occupants ran, but were caught with assistance from K-9s and the aviation unit.
The older teen was also charged with possession of a stolen firearm and resisting arrest without violence by the sheriff’s office. The other teen, who is 14, was charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement, operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license and felony possession of marijuana, officials said.