Multiple shooters opened fire in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday night, killing at least three people and injuring five others, according to police.
At a news conference Sunday night, Glendale Police Department public information officer Moroni Mendez stated, “Three people were killed in this incident, and five other victims were injured by shrapnel or gunshot wounds.”
There are few details about the shooting, and Mendez said it was unclear whether two rival groups were firing at each other.
“Whether they know each other, whether they’re related, whether they’re allies or opponents, we don’t know yet, and that’s what we’re trying to solve and figure out,” Mendez told the crowd.
There have been no arrests, but Mendez has stated that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
While the victims’ next of kin were notified, no information about their identities was available. Police said they would continue to investigate the scene throughout the night.
Earlier, police said they received multiple reports of a shooting at a business near 57th Drive and Lamar Road around 7:45 p.m.
An unidentified witness told Phoenix’s NBC affiliate KPNX that the restaurant El Camarón Gigante was hosting a family-friendly Cinco de Mayo party with dozens of people of all ages when the shooting occurred.
The witness had just left the restaurant, he told the station, when he heard more than 20 shots fired in 15 to 20 seconds. After a 30-second pause, about ten more shots were fired, he stated.
The witness stated that he applied pressure to the wounds of a woman who had been struck more than once. He also witnessed paramedics “doing pretty heavy-duty chest compressions” on three people, as well as someone conscious and breathing being carried out on a stretcher.
Mendez stated that more than one person opened fire, but there were no immediate arrests. “Quite a few people” were detained, but officers were still determining whether they were victims, witnesses, or suspects, he said.
Mendez said no police officers fired their weapons.
He described it as a “enormous scene” that would most likely take investigators “well until the daytime hours” to clear.
Following the shooting, the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix posted on Facebook that it was offering assistance to any Mexican citizens.
