Four suspects are in custody and being questioned after a suspected gang-related shooting in the downtown area of Uvalde Thursday evening, the Uvalde Police Department said.
Two juveniles are being treated at San Antonio hospitals following the shooting, and their conditions are unknown, Uvalde PD said.
Officers responded to a report of a shooting in the Uvalde Memorial Park area around 5:30 p.m., according to a Facebook post.
Authorities believe that the incident involved rival gangs.
The Texas Department of Public Safety tweeted it is “working with the Uvalde Police Department and Sheriff’s Office following a suspected gang related shooting at Memorial Park.”
Uvalde’s Memorial Park is a little over a mile away from Robb Elementary School, where a mass shooting took the lives of 19 students and two teachers in May.
The new school year started just this week in Uvalde after the district delayed the start of the school year so security improvements could be made to campuses, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Police ask anyone with information, video, or pictures of the shooting to call the Uvalde Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at 830-278-9147 or private message their Facebook page.
Information can also be reported anonymously through the SafeWatcher app, which will go directly to Uvalde PD.
Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement in response to the shooting:
“I was outraged to learn that gang violence has endangered the Uvalde community and innocent Texans this evening.
“I immediately called Mayor McLaughlin and County Judge Mitchell to offer the state’s full support and resources as law enforcement hunts down the gang members.
“After speaking with the mayor and the county judge about the immediate need for more law enforcement support, I have directed the Department of Public Safety to conduct patrol operations in the gang hotspots, send an additional six DPS trooper units to work around the clock, and begin coordinating an anti-gang effort with the city.
“Working with the Uvalde Police Department and Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office, DPS is also deploying Special Agents to target the five gangs operating in Uvalde.
“Thank you to all local and state law enforcement and first responders who swiftly went into action to protect their fellow Texans. Gang violence has no place here in Texas, and we will bring the full force of justice down on these heinous criminals.”
Police have said that the area in Uvalde is “not a dangerous situation for the general public.”
Still, DPS dispatched over two dozen troopers to Uvalde, a smaller city with roughly 16,000 residents, per Abbott’s orders.
