TAFT, Oklahoma (AP) – Authorities say one person was killed and seven were injured in a shootout Sunday in the early hours of an open-air festival in eastern Oklahoma, with witnesses describing frantic people running to protect themselves as the shots exploded.
Two youths were among those shot at the Memorial Day event near Taft, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. a statement.
Witnesses said a discussion preceded the shooting shortly after midnight, the agency said. No one was arrested, he said.
“We heard a lot of gunshots and thought they were firecrackers at first,” said Sylvia Wilson, owner of Taft’s Boots Cafe, which at the time was open to a large number of visitors to the small town. Memorial Day week. . “Then people start running and dodging. And we were yelling at everyone … ‘Get down! Get down!’ Wilson told The Associated Press by phone from the cafeteria Sunday morning.
About 1,500 people attended the event in Taft, which usually has a population of a few hundred people. Members of the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office attended and immediately began providing assistance, OSBI said.
The agency did not provide other details, including the condition of the injured. The Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office referred the PA to OSBI for more information. An office spokeswoman said her agency could have updates later Sunday.
“Bullets flew literally everywhere,” said Jasmayne Hill, who worked on a food truck during the event at Tulsa World.
Hill said she and Tiffany Walton, the owner of the food truck, threw themselves on the floor of the truck to avoid the bullets.
“We’re thinking we’re safe and the bullets are like going through the bottom of the food truck,” Hill said. “They didn’t hit us, thank God.”
Neicy Bates and her husband were operating another food truck when the shots rang. He told Tulsa World that most people “just went to the ground trying to get out of the way.”
“People were just screaming. Some were trying to run away. There were cars leaving, trying not to get hit,” he said.
Walton, who lives in Taft, said the city has held a multi-day festival for decades during Memorial Day weekend.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said on Twitter that he was grateful for “the OSBI’s quick response to help local police and I trust the ability of Oklahoma law enforcement to do justice to anyone be responsible for this fatal incident. “
Wilson estimated that his cafeteria was about 30 meters from where the shooting broke out. He said law enforcement had been at the scene to help with security before and that officers reacted quickly to the shooting.
“We’re upset,” Wilson said, adding, “But everything is back to normal … The danger is over.”