2 die as at least 12 people shot at party near Greenville, authorities say

This report is being continuously updated.

Two people died after at least 12 were shot at a party about midnight Saturday near Greenville as nearby Texas A&M University Commerce celebrated homecoming weekend.

Four other people were hurt, but Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks did not detail their injuries. He did say some people had been hurt by broken glass as they tried to escape through The Party Venue’s windows.

Authorities said they were looking for a single gunman but had not identified a suspect and had not received a detailed description of the person from witnesses. Meeks said he did not believe the public was in any danger.

The party, which had been promoted as a homecoming party but wasn’t school-sanctioned, was attended by about 750 people, mostly in their teens and early 20s. The sheriff said more than 20 of them already had been questioned about what they saw.

Initial reports had indicated the gunman was armed with a semiautomatic rifle, but Meeks confirmed he had used a handgun after coming in a back entrance of the venue. The first person the gunman shot may have been his intended target and the rest of the victims may have been randomly fired upon, the sheriff said.

“The amount of people that were there, the overcrowdedness of it — it gave the opportunity for this shooter to be able to accomplish whatever he wanted to be able to accomplish,” Meeks said. “When you have this many people in one place, it’s an easy target for somebody.”

The conditions of all the wounded were not released, but reports indicated some of them were critically injured. Both of the people who died were men, Meeks said, and Texas A&M Commerce confirmed that four of its students had been treated and released from hospitals.

Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks addresses members of the media at the sheriff's department headquarters after a shooting at Party Venue on Highway 380 in Greenville, Texas, on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

The shooting took place about midnight Saturday about 15 miles southwest of the Commerce campus, which is about 65 miles from Dallas.

Hunt County deputies had been outside the party because of complaints about illegal parking. They were questioning a person outside the front of the venue who they believed was intoxicated when the shooting began about 20 minutes after they arrived. One off-duty Farmersville ISD police officer also had been at the venue working security at the party.

Deputies heard gunshots coming from the back of the building but could not tell at first whether the shots were fired from inside or outside, Hunt County Chief Deputy Buddy Oxford said.

Authorities found the two men who had been killed inside the building.

The sheriff said the party became “complete chaos” as people tried to flee the gunman, with some breaking through windows and others trying to squeeze through the venue’s front door four abreast.

Halloween masks litter the ground among signs of chaos at the scene where a mass shooting occurred the night before at The Party Venue. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

The gunman fled during the commotion, and witnesses had not given authorities a detailed description of him or any suspect vehicle.

“It appalls me that, as many folks that were there, [they] have not been able to give us a better description of the shooter,” Meeks said.

The sheriff pleaded with partygoers to provide any information they could about the gunman.

“We need to get him off the street as soon as possible, and we have very, very little to go on right now," he said.

Medical City Plano Hospital spokeswoman Melissa Sauvage told The Associated Press that the hospital had received three victims of the shooting, all of whom were in critical condition.

According to Meeks, a sheriff’s sergeant quickly determined that one person who had been shot had life-threatening injuries and rushed that victim to a hospital in his patrol vehicle. Another deputy at the scene performed triage.

“I believe their actions may have saved lives," he said.

Graphic video posted online showed seriously wounded victims, with at least one receiving CPR as many people screamed in the background.

Halloween masks and blue medical gloves dotted the ground outside the venue. Authorities found fake bullets inside that appeared to be part of a costume.

Meeks said that in his 44 years of law-enforcement experience, this is the first time he’s encountered “something of this magnitude.”

“I think anything like this is gonna be something very hard to deal with; it’s not something that we deal with every day,” he said.

Chief Deputy Buddy Oxford of the Hunt County Sheriff's Department addresses members of the media outside of a crime scene after a shooting at Party Venue on Highway 380 in Greenville, Texas. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

A “Twerk or Treat” costume party had been promoted for Saturday night at the venue, which is described as an 8,000-square-foot facility. According to the venue’s Facebook page, its capacity is 500.

Sunday afternoon, police tape blocked off the venue, which is just west of Greenville’s city limits. The Hunt County Sheriff’s Office had set up a mobile command post, and several media crews were at the scene with authorities from local, state and federal agencies.

The FBI and the Texas Rangers are assisting local authorities with the investigation.

“This is a pretty big case, and we’re a small law-enforcement agency,” Meeks said.

Officials work a crime scene after a shooting at Party Venue on Highway 380 in Greenville, Texas. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

Ethan Derek Preas, director of campus operations and safety at Texas A&M Commerce, said in an email that the event where the shooting was reported was not sponsored by the university.

The shooting took place just minutes before Houston-based hip-hop artist BeatKing was scheduled to perform at the party.

The rapper tweeted early Sunday that seeing video of the shooting “makes my heart drop.”

This Texas A&M Commerce shooting happened 10 mins right before I got there to perform. Seeing that video makes my heart drop 💔 Prayers to all the families of the victims 🙏🏽 — BEATKING | CLUBGOD (@BEATKINGKONG) October 27, 2019

On Sunday afternoon, Kimberly Wilson stopped by the venue to pick up her daughter’s car, which was abandoned overnight.

Wilson’s 19-year-old daughter doesn’t attend Texas A&M Commerce but knows students there, and that’s how she heard about the party. Her daughter was unharmed, and Wilson picked her up when the teen’s car got stuck in mud near the venue.

“I think that youth, young people don’t have a fair chance in starting their lives,” Wilson said when asked about her reaction to the shooting.

She said she had been to parties growing up where people would shoot into the air to send people running, but this is different.

“This is — ‘I’m coming in, aiming at somebody to take somebody out’ and in the process, they killed two people and injured 14 more,” she said. “You’ve got all this mayhem going on. This is ridiculous.”

Investigators work a crime scene Sunday after a shooting at The Party Venue on Highway 380 in Greenville. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

Other people were reluctant to speak at the venue Sunday — an issue law-enforcement officials say has impeded the investigation.

Sgt. Jeff Haines, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said many witnesses don’t want to talk to authorities and he’s not sure whether they’re too afraid to cooperate.

He pleaded with anyone with information to come forward and aid the department in getting the shooter in custody.

“We need your help. We don’t know what the motive of this individual was. We don’t know why this individual did what they did and we don’t know if they plan on doing it again,” he said.

To anyone who doesn’t want to come forward because of an aversion to working with law enforcement, Haines said to speak up for the families.

“Have some dignity and respect for those that lost their lives just coming to a party last night,” he said.

Anyone with information about the shooting may call the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office at 903-453-6800 or Crime Stoppers at 903-457-2929.

Staff writers Eva-Marie Ayala, Dana Branham, Cassandra Jaramillo and LaVendrick Smith contributed to this report.