A 15-year-old boy was killed and three other people, including a police officer, were shot and injured Sunday night in Washington after a street concert, police said.
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The gunshots were preceded by two other incidents which sparked panic among the public attending an unauthorized concert to celebrate "
Juneteenth
", the anniversary of the end of slavery in the United States commemorating the day the last slaves in Texas learned, on June 19, 1865, that they were free.
Several people were injured as they fled, Washington Police Chief Robert Contee told reporters.
Carrier of an illegal weapon
The police then interrupted the music of this so-called "
Moochella
" concert - a local reference to the Californian Coachella festival - citing security reasons.
Despite the large presence of law enforcement, shooting broke out shortly after and the teenager was killed, according to Robert Contee.
The police officer and the two other injured were hospitalized.
There was no exchange of fire and the weapon used was not found, according to Robert Contee.
It was not yet clear whether the teenager was the target, he said, adding that police had seized two illegally held firearms nearby and were looking for a man carrying an illegal weapon.
He found it "
unacceptable
" for people with illegal firearms to mingle with "
large gatherings in densely populated areas
" and make them "
dangerous for people who just want to enjoy the good weather, Father's Day, of our city
", adding: "
it only takes one person (...), unfortunately, a 15-year-old boy lost his life
".
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The United States is going through an outbreak of gun violence, marked in particular by the massacre in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, which left 21 dead, including 19 children.
Since the beginning of the year, already more than 20,000 people have died by firearm in the United States, according to the site Gun Violence Archive, which incorporates suicides in its data.