COLUMBUS, Ohio — A teenage girl is dead, five other young people were wounded and two others injured in a shooting late Saturday at a music party promoted …
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A teenage girl is dead, five other young people were wounded and two others injured in a shooting late Saturday at a music party promoted on social media at the amphitheater in Bicentennial Park in downtown Columbus. Police and Columbus Fire medics were called just before midnight Saturday and found a chaotic scene with several people wounded. Olivia Kurtz,16, was transported to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 1:06 a.m., police said. Three females and two males, ranging in age from 15-19, were wounded. The shooting victims were transported to local hospitals, where they were all expected to recover from their injuries, police said. Two other young people received hospital treatment for non-gunshot injuries as they were attempting to flee from the area. Dozens of small cones marking bullet casings and evidence covered the stage, steps and the surrounding grass areas at the amphitheater Sunday morning. A police K9 dog also was at the scene scouring for evidence. Police said there was no scheduled event at the park, but that the shooting occurred during “a private event that was promoted on social media.” “It appears that somebody organized over social media a large party/concert at the amphitheater there,” Deputy Police Chief Tim Becker said. The event was after park hours, there was no permit issued and not authorized or sanctioned by the city Recreation and Parks Department, Becker said. The organizers “threw something together, potentially even charging admission to get in and concessions and a DJ is what we’re being told,” he said. “Upon our arrival, all of those people had fled with their equipment. They very quickly loaded up and took off.” Witnesses gave differing accounts of where the shooting erupted and whether people in the crowd returned fire, and investigators don’t know how many shooters there were, Becker said.
