Two men were killed and 35 people were wounded in a shooting at a block party early on Sunday, officials stated.
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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a press release that shots were fired at about 1:25 a.m. in Vienna, a rural community about two hours south of Atlanta. Local station WALB News 10 described the event as a homecoming party.
Dooly County Sheriff's Office deputies were patrolling the party at the time, the bureau said. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene. The wounded were taken to several regional hospitals.
Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy told local outlet WMAZ that more than 1,000 people had gathered around Pine Street for the weekend festivities. More than 50 shots rang out, sending party attendees scattering in various directions, the outlet reported.
While deputies were at the scene, they heard more gunshots ring out blocks away.
"We don't know if it's coming at us or someone else," he said. "You just have to keep doing what you're doing. Hope you don't get hit by gunfire."
Mass Shooting Erupts at High School Homecoming Event
The Associated Press reported that the gathering was a part of homecoming weekend for Dooly County High School.
Sherrod Willaford, superintendent of the Dooly County School System, clarified that the shooting was not at a school-sponsored event.
"We recognize that its impact may reach many of our students, families and staff," Willaford told the outlet, adding that schools will open Monday with additional safety measures in place.
Dooly County Coroner Brett Walls said the two men, ages 20 and 23, were pronounced dead at the scene with fatal gunshot wounds. He said multiple other people were also shot, calling the scene "horrific."
Walls told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that multiple people were shot. Roughly a dozen others were hurt while trying to flee.
"This doesn't — it's not supposed to — happen in a small town like that. It's something you hear on the news in bigger cities," Walls told the newspaper. "And even in bigger cities, you don't hear that kind of a number."
The bureau declined to say whether authorities had determined a motive or identified a suspect.
"The investigation remains active and ongoing. At this time, no additional information is available for release," Lydia Bullard, the bureau's public affairs specialist, said in a statement to NBC News.
