At least nine teenagers suffered non-life-threatening injuries after shots were fired at an after-prom party in Texas over the weekend - and a second shooting less than 20 minutes away may be connected, authorities said.
Deputies from the Jasper County, Texas, Sheriff's Office responded to a disturbance at a home north of Jasper just after midnight on Sunday, the agency said in a Facebook post.
Deputies found nine victims with non-life-threatening injuries, the post said. The ages of the victims range from 15 to 19, sheriff's office spokesperson Karli Cherry told CNN in an email Sunday morning.
The violence is the latest in a relentless series of shootings in America, many of which have taken the lives of or seriously injured young people.
Mass shootings have escalated, occurring at a record pace nationwide. At least 173 have been reported so far this year, leaving more than 225 people dead and at least 675 injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Last weekend, four young people were killed -- including a beloved high school football player -- and at least 32 others were hurt during a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama. The victims' ages ranged from 17 to 23.
At least six people -- including four teenagers -- have been arrested and face murder charges in the massacre, Alabama authorities have said.
Texas authorities interviewing people of interest
Following the Texas after-prom party shooting, at least eight victims were taken to a nearby hospital by personal cars and some victims were transferred to a hospital in Beaumont for further treatment, authorities said.
While authorities have not yet identified a motive for the shooting, they are interviewing several witnesses and people of interest, the sheriff's office said in a Sunday evening news release.
The sheriff's office said it is also investigating another shooting that occurred just miles away, adding there may be a "possible connection" between the two.
Authorities did not offer further details about the second incident.
Jasper is in eastern Texas, roughly 30 minutes west of the Texas-Louisiana border.
CNN
