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Uvalde police are reporting that two teens were injured in a potentially gang-related shooting in a public park just four months after the small west Texas town endured one of the country's deadliest school massacres.
Officers were promptly dispatched to Uvalde Memorial Park at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday in response to reports of gunfire, police said in a statement. While details surrounding the incident are emerging, police have identified four suspects and say the two victims are hospitalized, with a minor listed in stable but critical condition. The shooting occurred just 127 days after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School, killing 19 students and two teachers.
News of the shooting arrived as the Uvalde Police Department warned the public in a Facebook post Thursday to avoid the area around the park, as police investigated. The park is around a mile from Robb Elementary and only blocks from Uvalde Town Square, the site of memorials for families impacted by the school shooting.
The incident does not pose a threat to the public and there are no orders to shelter in place, reported KSAT-TV Thursday evening.
The Texas Department of Public Safety described the incident as a "suspected gang related shooting" in a tweet, saying it was working with Uvalde police and the local sheriff's office.
"This information is preliminary, as the situation develops we will work with local law enforcement to provide updates," the department said.
In a statement sent to Newsweek Friday, Uvalde police said the victims include Bruce Brown, 18, who was taken to a hospital in nearby San Antonio and is reportedly in stable condition. A second victim is a 16-year-old, whose identity couldn't be released, who was taken to a San Antonio hospital where they are in stable but critical condition, police said.
Uvalde Criminal Investigations Division arrested four suspects in connection to the shooting. Police charged Donavan Hill, 17, with engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Karlyn Alexandrya Valdez, 22, was charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and endangering a child.
Additionally, police said, an unnamed 16-year-old was taken into custody, accused of engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Brandon L. Alba, 18, is currently in a San Antonio hospital recovering from injuries sustained during the incident, police said. He will be served with an arrest warrant upon being released, accused of engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The shooting on Thursday occurred the same week students returned to school in Uvalde. The back-to-school transition posed heightened challenges for parents in a community still grappling with heartbreak and questions over the police response to the May 24 mass school shooting.
Students from Robb Elementary have been sent to other schools, and facilities in the district have added security measures, such as bullet-resistant sheeting behind windows or fences, reported The Texas Tribune. Some parents have questioned if the bolstered security is enough and some have enrolled their children into online school, according to the news outlet.
Update 9/9/22, 5:51 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional context and information.
About the writer
Jake Thomas is a Newsweek night reporter based in Portland, Oregon. His focus is U.S. national politics, crime and public ... Read more