VIENNA, Ga. — Investigators are searching for the person or people responsible for a mass shooting that killed two people and injured 35 others during a homecoming block party in Dooly County early Sunday morning.
Dooly County is around 2 hours south of Atlanta and 1 hour south of Macon.
The victims were identified as Jaquevion Jackson, 21, of Cordele, and McCaleb Jackson, 23, of Hawkinsville, according to Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy.
The shooting happened around 1:30 a.m., when roughly 1,000 people gathered in Vienna for a homecoming celebration.
“This is the one that just caught me off guard,” Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy said.
All the latest developments in the investigation, on Channel 2 Action News starting at 4:00 p.m.
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The night before, deputies monitored an even bigger homecoming event that was peaceful. The sheriff said that seemed to be the case once again on Saturday night, until someone opened fire.
“Some people were reporting fireworks and then someone said somebody been shot,” Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy said.
The sheriff said deputies were already stationed at both ends of the block party because of the large crowd.
The sheriff said deputies had to push through crowds of people running in different directions while also trying to reach victims. He said officers were still hearing gunfire nearby even as they responded to the scene.
Authorities said there were 37 total victims, ranging in age from 14 to 51.
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Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said the agency has activated six investigative units to assist with the case. Investigators spent Sunday interviewing witnesses and following leads while attempting to determine what sparked the gunfire.
“We don’t want to presume anything as to what caused it,” Hosey said. “The goal right now is to identify those involved and gather as much information as we can.”
For many residents, the shooting was difficult to comprehend in a close-knit community.
Arney Bryant, a longtime Vienna resident, called the violence an outlier for the community.
“This was just one thing that just went left, and it went too far left,” Bryant said.“One life that’s lost, that’s one too many. One person injured, that’s one too many.”
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