Six hospitalized after shooting outside Oregon concert
Six people were hospitalized with one in critical condition after multiple shots were fired Friday night outside a concert in Oregon, police said. The incident is currently under investigation, and no suspects have been apprehended.
Eugene Police Department Chief Chris Skinner said the scene is "dynamic" and "one that's going to take us a while to process," in a briefing early Saturday morning.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how challenging this is for a city our size," he said.
At around 9:30 p.m. local time, police said they responded to a shooting at WOW Hall in Eugene, Oregon. WOW Hall's interim executive director and board chair said in a statement that gunshots were heard in the back parking lot.
Six unnamed victims were transported to a local hospital with gunshot wounds. The person in critical condition is receiving surgery and the status of the other victims is unknown at this time, Skinner said.
All classes at WOW Hall have been canceled until further notice and all employees who were working or volunteering Friday are safe and accounted for, the WOW Hall statement said.
Although a suspect is not yet in custody, Skinner said police are aware of a male wearing a hoodie who was seen running away from the scene after the incident. He said officials believe at this time that there was only one suspect and that there is no significant safety risk to the public.
"We really don't have a lot of information," Skinner said. "Detectives are doing the very best they can to try and ascertain what happened tonight."
He said the crowd at the concert during the incident's early investigation was "difficult to manage."
"What law enforcement found when they came on scene is what you would exactly expect when six people just got shot," he said. "They're trying to get out of here. Their friends are on the ground. They're trying to help and unfortunately it just made it very difficult to control." He said no one gave a witness statement to police Friday night, but he was hopeful witnesses would come forward on Saturday.
The police chief called on witnesses at the event to come forward with any relevant information on the incident, which he said is "one of the highest profile shootings" the city of Eugene has experienced.