Two people are dead and children hurt after a shooting in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Monday afternoon.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said Monday afternoon that there were multiple victims hurt in the incident at a home on Berkshire Avenue, and a man and a woman are dead. Three children were taken to the hospital for treatment. The suspected shooter is one of the dead, Gulluni said.
He did not offer specifics on what investigators believe occurred or the nature of the surviving victims' injuries.
He noted that investigators do not believe this was a random act and there is no larger threat to the public, though the violence is frustrating.
"There's a level of frustration right now with the violence in the city, in the region. But I can assure everyone that all resources are being deployed," he said.
Footage from the scene shows local and state police as well as multiple ambulances. A neighbor said she heard five loud pops. At first she thought it was firecrackers.
"And that’s when we saw the children coming out bloodied and I lost it," Selena Coppedge told NBC10 Boston.
This comes on the same day that Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Springfield police met with state and federal law enforcement agencies to discuss ways to address a recent uptick in gun violence in the city. Four people were killed in shootings in the city over the one week period from Aug. 6-13.
Over the weekend alone, two deadly shootings were reported in Springfield, according to WWLP. Around 9:20 p.m. on Saturday, police were called to the area of State and Dresden streets where they found a man with a gunshot wound. He later died of those injuries. Around 2:35 a.m. on Saturday, officers were called to a car crash where two people were found with gunshot wounds. One person died in the crash and the driver was taken to Baystate Medical Center for her injuries.
There have already been 24 homicides in Springfield so far this year, the highest number in nearly a quarter century.
Police said the fatal shootings in the city so far this year were targeted and not believed to be related. But officials said they are seeing more fully automatic firearms and ghost guns than ever before.
City officials said they were planning to meet with community stakeholders on Thursday to continue discussions about how to address the rise in gun violence.
