TWO KILLED, 35 HURT IN SHOOTING AT GEORGIA BLOCK PARTY

Two men died and 35 other people were injured after gunfire broke out at a neighbourhood block party in Vienna, Georgia, in the early hours of Sunday, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and local officials. Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy told WMAZ-TV that more than 1,000 people had gathered at the event and that over 50 shots were fired at two locations roughly a block apart. The Dooly County Sheriff's Office said deputies were already patrolling the party, held around 1.25am, when the shooting began. Dooly County Coroner Brett Walls said the two men who died, aged 20 and 23, were pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds. Officials did not say how many of the 35 injured had been shot or detail the severity of their injuries, and the GBI said victims were taken to several hospitals for treatment.

Peavy said people scattered in different directions as the shooting unfolded, and that further gunfire erupted about a block away even as officers were present at the scene. He said it was unclear at the time whether the shots were directed at officers or at others nearby. The gathering took place over homecoming weekend for Dooly County Secondary school, though Sherrod Willaford, superintendent of the Dooly County School System, said the shooting was not connected to any school-sponsored event. Vienna lies about 130 miles south of Atlanta and roughly 50 miles south of Macon along the Interstate 75 corridor.

Willaford said in a statement that the shooting's impact was likely to reach many students, families and staff in the district. He confirmed that schools would reopen on Monday, with additional safety measures put in place, though he did not specify what those measures involved. The shooting follows a separate incident in Macon last week, where authorities said 12 teenagers were wounded by gunfire during a confrontation between people at a birthday party in a city park. Investigations into the Vienna shooting remain ongoing, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.