Kids Shot in Bouncy Houses During July 4th Cookout

Two young children were shot while playing in a pair of bouncy houses while attending a Fourth of July celebration, and it’s one of several violent incidents that plagued the holiday, prompting one person to declare, “America is a horror movie.”

The incident occurred on Monday evening at a cookout gathering held near the Arlington Village shopping center in Indianapolis. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers and medics were dispatched to the scene at around 6:55 p.m. EST after reports came in of a shooting.

First responders found that two children, an 8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, had been critically wounded in a shooting at the gathering while they were playing in bouncy houses, WISH-TV News reported. Another man, believed to have also been at the gathering, checked himself into a hospital later with a wound he likely sustained during the shooting.

While a suspect has not yet been arrested, authorities currently believe that the shooting was unprovoked and that perpetrator fled the scene shortly after opening fire.

“At this time, it’s still very early on in the investigation, but we have initial reason to believe that this was an unprovoked attack, that the suspects arrived on the scene and opened fire on a crowd that was having a Fourth of July celebration,” Captain Mike Leepper of the IMPD said in a statement. “They were having a cookout with a bounce house. There were several children that were present and several adults as well.”

Little is currently known about the victims of the shooting. Leepper confirmed that the two children were taken to “a Level 1 trauma center” for treatment, with WRTV News reporting that they have been listed as in critical but stable condition. The adult victim who checked himself in later was also reported to be in stable condition.

Leepper noted that information about the case is being withheld from the public as it is vetted amid the ongoing investigation. Numerous attendees of the ill-fated cookout remained at the scene and spoke with police about what they saw.

“We want to make sure that our detectives have time to vet the information that they’ve been given, that it’s accurate, before it’s given out to the general public,” Leeper added.

Newsweek reached out to the Indianapolis Metro Police department for comment.

This year’s Fourth of July festivities have been marked with notable instances of violence.

Illinois

On Monday, suspect Robert E. Crimo opened fire during a July 4 parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. His actions ultimately took the lives of seven attendees and injured dozens more.

In the aftermath of the incident, Crimo was found to be a supporter of former President Donald Trump and the son of a former mayoral candidate who lost to a pro-gun-control Democrat.

Philadelphia

At the close of Independence Day celebrations in Philadelphia, masses of people gathered to watch fireworks.

But the celebrations were marred when two police officers working security were shot near the Philadelphia Museum of Art at around 9:50 p.m. local time.

The gunfire prompted a stampede on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with videos on social media capturing the panic as people ran for blocks in all directions in an effort to flee the violence.

“America is a horror movie,” a Twitter user wrote alongside a clip that captured the panic on the ground while fireworks continued to explode into the night sky.

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