MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Nine people were shot, including two men who were killed, at an unauthorized public party over the weekend in a Memphis city park, police said.
Officers responded early Saturday evening to a reported shooting in Orange Mound Park, Memphis Police Department Chief Cerelyn Davis said during a news conference at the location. Two men were pronounced dead at the scene, Davis said.
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Six surviving victims were transported to area hospitals, police said, where one had been in critical condition and one was released. By Sunday morning, the victims had been upgraded to stable condition, police said on the social platform X.
Police said later Sunday that another shooting victim who had been located was in non-critical condition, according to news outlets.
The shooting occurred at a block party, which Davis said included an estimated 200 to 300 attendees but did not appear to have been issued a city permit.
At least two people are believed to have fired weapons during the shooting, and police were examining video footage as part of the ongoing investigation, Davis said. There were no immediate arrests. Police said late Sunday that the reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible had been increased to $15,000.
“There are no words that can adequately express the pain we are all feeling over this most recent act of senseless violence — where guns were brazenly brought to a park filled with young people, families, and children,” Memphis Mayor Paul Young said in a statement released Sunday. “This must stop. The violence must end.”
The Memphis police initially reported there were 16 people shot but revised the number later, noting on social media that the error appeared to have been a result of “several victims being reported multiple times.”