(TEXARKANA, TX.) — A suspect sought in a shooting at a Texas Halloween party that left one reveler dead and nine others injured surrendered to authorities on Sunday, according to police.
The shooting occurred late Saturday night at an event center in Texarkana, a town that straddles the border of Texas and Arkansas, according to a statement Sunday morning from the Texarkana Police Department.
The suspected gunman, identified by police as Keuntae McElroy, 21, from the Arkansas side of Texarkana, turned himself in after investigators obtained an arrest warrant for him on Sunday and launched a search, officials said.
McElroy was booked at the Bi-State Jail in Texarkana on one count of felony aggravated assault. Texarkana police said additional charges are expected to be filed against him on Monday.
The shooting unfolded just before midnight at Octavia’s Activity Center, where police said a Halloween party was being attended by “at least a couple hundred” people.
“When they (police officers) got there, they encountered a large number of people running from the building and several inside suffering from gunshot wounds,” the police statement reads.
The gunman left the venue in a vehicle, setting off a massive search in eastern Texas.
A 20-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was mortally wounded and later pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.
Nine other people wounded in the shooting were taken to Wadley Regional Medical Center and CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital by ambulance and private vehicles, authorities said. None of them initially appeared to suffer life-threatening injuries, police said.
Officer Shawn Vaughn of the Texarkana Police Department said numerous 911 calls were made, prompting all patrol officers working at the time to respond, while another patrol shift was summoned to handle calls on the street, according to ABC affiliate station KTBS in Shreveport, Louisiana.
“When we got here, I understand there was a large crowd in the parking lot involved in several fights,” Vaughn said. “So, we requested assistance from any and everybody that was available.”
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