7 people, including 4 children, shot in Mesa parking lot, police say

MESA, Ariz. — Seven people, including four children, were wounded Friday night after a vehicle drove up to a crowd in a Mesa, Arizona, parking lot and opened fire, authorities said.

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The shooting occurred at about 9:30 p.m., Mesa Police Department spokesperson Detective Nik Rasheta told The Arizona Republic.

Update 1:49 a.m. EDT Oct. 18: Mesa police say four children were injured. Their ages were 1, 6, 9 and 16, KNXV reported. Three adults were shot, the television station reported.

The 1-year-old child remained in extremely critical condition, The Arizona Republic reported. Mesa police Chief Ken Cost said the other injuries range from minor to severe, but none was believed to be life-threatening, the newspaper reported.

Mesa police said the shooter was in a white vehicle and opened fire at the food vending area of the parking lot, KNXV reported. A worker then returned fire at the vehicle before it left the area.

Mesa resident Sally Holderbach said she was hit in the foot with a piece of bullet shrapnel when running to her car with her boyfriend.

“We just started hearing shots ring and everyone just scattered,” Holderbach told KNXV. “And I felt my whole foot like vibrate and start stinging.

“I saw them carrying away a small child that looked severely injured, like limp, not moving at all. and people were screaming to help the baby,” Holderbach added. “I saw a man laying on the ground. He wasn’t moving.”

Cost said police are still looking for the shooter or shooters.

“They crossed the line. They shot children and it’s unacceptable,” Cost told reporters. “You need to come forward and do the right thing.”

Original report: Originally, officers found “at least five” victims at the scene, Rasheta said in an email to the newspaper late Friday night. However, that number was changed to seven just before 9 a.m. Saturday.

The age or gender of the victims has not been released, KNXV reported. However, Rasheta said one victim was in critical condition and some of the victims were under the age of 18, according to KTVK.

Rasheta said police remained at the scene Saturday to gather evidence, the Republic reported, adding that he believed the shooting was an “isolated incident.”

“We’re in the early stages of trying to find out who did this and what motive there might have been for the incident,” Rasheta told CNN.

There are no suspects in custody, Rasheta said.

Cox Media Group