SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) – Nine people were shot at a large party in Syracuse, authorities said, and one victim, a 17-year-old boy, was in critical condition Sunday.
No one was immediately taken into custody, and Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner emphasized that the investigation was in its early stages in an appearance at a press conference alongside Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh.
Syracuse officers had arrived at the scene just before 9 p.m. for reports of a stolen car, but responding officers were met with by people who said shots had been fired into the crowd of a “few hundred,” Buckner said. The police chief said his officers didn’t hear the gunshots.
In addition to the 17-year-old, who was shot in the head, the shooting victims ranged in age from 18 to 53, Syracuse police said in a news release. They were expected to survive.
A woman who identified herself as the party’s hostess told the Post-Standard of Syracuse that she has celebrated the birthday of her son, Ryedell Davis, every year for 14 years and there was never a problem before.