3 dead, 8 injured in mass shooting after homecoming game in Mississippi

() – Three people died and eight others were injured by gunfire in Mississippi at a party celebrating a school’s football victory early Saturday morning, according to the local sheriff.

Two 19-year-olds and one 25-year-old died in the incident, in which at least two attackers participated, reported The Associated Press. He added that the injured were airlifted to a hospital.

Holmes County Sheriff Willie March confirmed to that the shooting took place on a trail outside Lexington early Saturday morning. Emergency services had received a call around 12:30 a.m. ET, Marsh said, and arrived in less than 15 minutes.

A chaotic scene awaited them, he said. “Chaos. “People running, people crying, people… you know, it was chaos because of the sheer amount of people there.”

There have been at least 422 mass shootings this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archivewhich, like , defines a mass shooting as one that injures or kills four or more people, not including the shooter.

Between 200 and 300 people attended the party, which was held after a football game at Holmes County Consolidated School’s homecoming celebration, the AP reported.

“Three or four hours after the game ended, people decided to go out for a walk and I guess celebrate because they had won,” he said. “The school had nothing to do with it. “They didn’t organize it, they didn’t participate in anything.”

Marsh said that, as far as he knew, the football players were not present and the cause of the shooting was unclear.

“We’re asking questions, but everyone says they didn’t see any incidents or fights or anything,” March said. “We are trying to find a motive ourselves.”

Joe Johnson, co-owner of the land where the party was being held, told WAPT affiliate, that the event was to end shortly after the shooting began.

“We had 30 minutes left and I was about to comment, you know, ‘It’s not long,’ and that’s when I heard the gunshots,” he told WAPT.

Johnson said the shots repeated themselves and sounded “like a machine gun.”

The events held in the field had security, which on other occasions had led to weapons being seized, he said, but this time they did.

“There is so much innocent blood that is being spilled, that is what hurts me,” he said. “I am an ordained minister and I would like to be able to talk to our young people and tell them to love each other.”

Johnson said his nephew was among the wounded and his children were also present: “It was just the goodness of God that they weren’t shot.”

The incident marks the second consecutive weekend in which a mass shooting has occurred following homecoming festivities.

A man killed and nine others injured in shooting near Tennessee State University in Nashville on Oct. 12 after that school’s homecoming celebration, although police said it was some sort of “secondary” celebration and not a reflection of the university.