THERE IS A DEVIL LOOSE! ANOTHER TRAGIC JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION SHOOTING, 2 DEAD, 14 INJURED

When Onnesha Williams heard gunshots during a Juneteenth celebration in Round Rock on Saturday, she thought they were firecrackers.

But then she heard people screaming, and people in the vendor area of the event started running. Williams, a member of Black Families of Hutto, was near the parking lot when it unfolded.

Two people were killed and 14 bystanders were wounded in the shooting at the event at Old Settlers Park, 1371 Harrell Parkway. Round Rock police were still searching for a shooter and had not taken anyone into custody as of Sunday evening.

The shooting started at 10:50 p.m. between two groups at the event, a Round Rock Police Department news release said.

The people directly involved in the shooting immediately fled, the release said. The people who were killed, whose names have not been released, were not part of the altercation, police said.

Police:Round Rock Juneteenth shooting victims identified as Pflugerville, Manor residents

The free, two-day Juneteenth celebration, held at the Lakeview Pavilion and festival area in Old Settlers Park, was sponsored by a nonprofit called The Voice Inc. and the Round Rock Parks and Recreation Department. Thousands attended the event, though Police Chief Allen Banks said Sunday that he did not know the exact number of attendees. The Voice Inc. did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.

The 14 people who were taken to the hospital ranged in age from 10 to 52, Banks said during a news conference Sunday evening. Most of them had been released from the hospital as of Sunday evening, and the rest were in stable condition and expected to be released “within the next day or so,” Banks said.

Banks declined to release the names of the two people who died, saying that Round Rock police detectives were still talking to the families of the victims. Banks said he would release their names Monday.

Banks said an investigation into what led to the shooting is ongoing.

He said police had an “operations plan” for the Juneteenth event, as Old Settlers Park is an open park with no security point. More than 22 law enforcement personnel were assigned to the event, as well as members of the Round Rock Fire Department and EMS, Banks said. Officers and volunteers were spread throughout the park, and some officers were also overseeing the crowd from surveillance towers.

“The bottom line is, regardless of the amount of security we had, we had somebody who decided to take matters in their own hands and kill two people and injure 14 other people senselessly,” Banks said. “This isn’t about the police. It’s about those folks who are careless and could care less about somebody else’s life.”

Community members reflect on shooting

The celebration had been peaceful, Williams said — families relaxing and enjoying food, kids running around.

“I’m a little shocked and sad,” she said. “I can’t stop thinking about the people who lost their lives and people who were harmed and injured and all the people who saw that. In all the years I’ve attended Round Rock events, this has never happened.”

Police stopped all the cars leaving the event to search them, Williams said.

What we know:2 killed, 14 injured in shooting at Juneteenth celebration in Texas

Omega Psi Phi, a service fraternity, gives a presentation on stage at the celebration every year to award scholarships to high school seniors, said Wayne Williams, the organization’s president. He was at the celebration Saturday but declined to comment about the shooting, saying the incident was still under investigation.

“It’s definitely sad that such a great celebration came to an end this year in this manner,” he said. “It definitely lets us know that we have some growing to do as a community at large.”

He said he has been to the Juneteenth celebration in Round Rock frequently in the past, when no problems happened. He called the celebration a “loving and safe event where family and community come out and have a great time and different vendors come out and display what they have to offer.”

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THERE IS A DEVIL LOOSE! ANOTHER TRAGIC JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION SHOOTING, 2 DEAD, 14 INJURED

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