Post by Scumhunter on Jul 11, 2021 2:37:02 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: ocregister.com via OC Hawk)
From the Orange Counry Register (ocregister.com):
A drive-by shooting wounded two teenage boys outside Knott’s Berry Farm on Friday night, July 9 and sent large crowds of people fleeing the amusement park, some falling and twisting ankles as the park was evacuated and panic spread, others hiding with strangers in bathrooms, storage areas and refrigerators.
Dispatchers received numerous reports of shots fired near the front entrance of the theme park at about 8:27 p.m., Buena Park Police Sgt. Mario Escamilla said. Multiple rounds were fired from a vehicle on Beach Boulevard, south of La Palma. That’s outside the northeast section of Knott’s that features Camp Snoopy.
One boy was treated by the Orange County Fire Authority before being taken to a hospital, and the other boy showed up there later, Escamilla said. They did not immediately appear to have been gravely wounded. Their ages and other details were not made available.
There was no description of the shooter or the vehicle, Escamilla said Saturday. Whether there was a confrontation before the shooting was still under investigation.
An Instagram post shows a teen boy wearing a dark-colored jacket, dark-colored pants and white shoes doubled over, showing what appears to be a bullet hole in his jacket and blood seeping through it. He says in the video that he was shot in the leg. Escamilla said the video “appears” to be that of a victim of the shooting but that detectives have not confirmed that.
Knott’s was open Saturday. Multiple phone calls to media relations received a busy signal Saturday.
Park-goers’ accounts of the shooting and the ensuing panic were chilling.
Zachery Lewis was at the park with family members when “out of nowhere people started running from the bumper cars,” he told Adrian Pineda, a videographer for OC Hawk. “I checked around first, thought it was a fire because I could smell burning. But then I heard: ‘Gun! Gun! Gun!’ “
Lewis said he saw people being knocked about and falling over immediately following the shooting. He attempted to help some get back up, dislocating his shoulder in the process, he said, with his arm held aloft and supported by a friend. He became separated from the people he was with and wound up hiding in a bathroom with strangers.
Some people twisted their ankles as they ran from the scene of the shooting, police said.
“Everyone started panicking, kids were getting lost because we didn’t know what was going on,” Melody Padilla, who was at the park, told ABC7.
Mark Ahrens took refuge in the park and posted a photo on Twitter showing him and a boy waiting out the situation with others in a small room. Their faces reflected the uncertainty of the moment.
“An audio tech named Rod allowed a group of us to hide in his tech storage area behind the small band stage. Some of us prayed. Then we were led backstage out,” Ahrens wrote.
Ahrens also posted a video shot by his wife that showed others hunkered down in a room.
Parents whose children were at the park without them were frightened.
A mother named Heather tweeted: “Nothing worse than my teenager calling me whispering, ‘Mom there’s a shooter what do I do?’ I have 4 teenagers that I hope won’t be traumatized by today’s events. Total chaos.”
Mykey Irvin was also contacted by one of her children, she tweeted: “My daughter was 20ft from the shooting and I got a random I love you text like it was going to be her last message 🙁 “
Knott’s posted a statement on Twitter.
“We have been made aware of an incident which took place away from Knott’s Berry Farm. A victim was assisted by park personnel outside of the park’s gates and transported to a local hospital. The incident is currently being investigated. All inquires should be directed to the Buena Park Police or local authorities.”
Knotts said people who left their belongings behind could pick them up Saturday.
One woman had praise for some of the Knott’s staffers. “I will say kudos to your staff at Grizzly Bear. They are young themselves, but they took it upon themselves to step up and guide a large number of us into the kitchen and refrigerators, while trying to keep us calm and safe as best as they could,” Jessica MH wrote.
There is always a large police presence at the park and in the area, said Escamilla, the Buena Park sergeant. Officers are assigned to Knott’s and the adjacent Soak City waterpark. Also, Knott’s hires additional officers for the grounds. And then there are the street cops who patrol the area, Escamilla said.
Officers arrived at the shooting scene “within minutes,” Escamilla said.
He said Saturday afternoon that nothing new had been learned about the circumstances of the shooting.
Police ask anyone with information about it to call 714-562-3901.
www.ocregister.com/2021/07/09/drive-by-shooting-outside-of-knotts-berry-farm-leaves-1-wounded/
Thoughts?
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