Three people were killed and eight others were injured in Fort Worth late Monday night when several men started firing indiscriminately into a crowd, the police said.
The shooting took place just before midnight in the Como neighborhood, southwest of downtown Fort Worth. One person died at the scene of the shooting, and two died from their injuries at local hospitals. Eight others were treated for gunshot wounds at three different hospitals, the police said.
The authorities said that the shooting was not related to an annual July 3 community event that occurred earlier in the day at another location.
The Fort Worth Police Department’s homicide unit is investigating the shooting, Officer Daniel Segura, a spokesman, said in an email. No one has been arrested, and the police are asking people to call with any tips, he added.
“Fireworks were being shot off, lots of people just trying to flee the area from the multiple gunshots, so it was difficult for them to navigate quickly into the area,” Capt. Shawn Murray of the Fort Worth Police Department said at a news conference shortly after the shooting.
He said it was too soon to say whether the shooting was gang-related or related to a domestic dispute.
Mayor Mattie Parker of Fort Worth said on Twitter that she was devastated by the shooting.
“It’s heartbreak and then you’re furious about it,” Ms. Parker told WFAA-TV.
“We have a long way to go, and so does this country,” she added. “We’re all reeling with gun violence.”
Just hours before the shooting in Fort Worth, a shooter wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire in Philadelphia, killing five men between the ages of 20 and 59 and injuring two others, ages 2 and 13. A suspect was taken into custody by the police.
On Sunday, at least two people died and 28 others were wounded in a shooting at a block party in the Brooklyn neighborhood in southern Baltimore.
The Fort Worth shooting came a year after seven people were killed and dozens were injured in a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb 25 miles north of Chicago. Some Americans have said they were nervous about attending big public events this year for the Fourth, such as parades and firework shows, given the number of mass shootings around the country in recent years.
President Biden acknowledged the violence in a statement on Tuesday and urged other states to follow the example of Illinois, which banned certain high-powered guns and high-capacity magazines after the Highland Park shooting.
“Over the last few days, our nation has once again endured a wave of tragic and senseless shootings in communities across America — from Philadelphia to Fort Worth, Baltimore to Lansing, Wichita to Chicago,” Mr. Biden said. “Today, Jill and I grieve for those who have lost their lives and, as our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray for the day when our communities will be free from gun violence.”
Amanda Holpuch and Johnny Diaz contributed reporting.
