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The Memorial Day festival in Oklahoma took an awful turn following a shooting incident. A 39-year-old woman died while seven other people were wounded, including a 9-year-old child. Officials said the gunfire took place at an outdoor Memorial Day festival in Taft, Oklahoma.
It was just after midnight when some of the attendees at the festival engaged in an argument. Soon after, gunfire followed, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations (OSBI).
As per OSBI's news release, the suspect, Skyler Buckner, turned himself in at the Muskogee County Sheriff's Office at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. However, charges against the 26-year-old have not yet been announced.
The Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, who was present at the festival, provided initial aid to the victims, as per a statement by the OSBI.
The authorities also mentioned that those injured were in the age range of 9 to 56 years old. Although OSBI initially said two juveniles were wounded, this information was later rectified. Reportedly, only a 9-year-old kid was the only juvenile who was injured.
Of the seven people injured in the gunfire, none of them were fatally wounded, according to the OSBI.
Memorial Day festival in Oklahoma turns bloody
About 1,500 people were present at the Memorial Day festival when the shooting took place. The festival was underway at the Old City Square in Taft, about 45 miles southeast of Tulsa, according to a statement by the OSBI.
One of the witnesses, Jasmayne Hill, told a local news agency,
"Bullets were literally flying everywhere."
Other witnesses also gave an account of their harrowing experiences. Neicy Bates and her husband were operating a food truck that day. Bates said that some people were trying to get out of the way by getting on the ground. She continued :
“People were just screaming. Some were trying to run away. There were cars leaving, trying not to hit each other.”
Another Taft resident, Sylvia Wilson, owner of Taft's Boots Cafe, said,
"We heard a lot of shots and we thought it was firecrackers at first."
Wilson's cafe was open at the time of the shooting. She continued,
"Then people start running and ducking. We were yelling at everyone...Get down! Get down!"
The increase in shooting incidents in America has sparked an age-old debate about stricter gun laws. The Oklahoma shooting is reported just days after the Chattanooga shooting and the Uvalde school massacre.
