Nine people were injured by gunfire early Sunday at a large rental home where teenagers had gathered for a birthday party that was promoted on social media. The scene in north-eastern Ohio was chaotic as some people fled and first responders performed life-saving measures, police said.
The shooting happened at about 12.15am local time in Bath Township, about 15 miles (24 km) north-west of Akron.
It was one of at least 365 mass shootings – cases in which there are four or victims – that occurred in the US so far this year as of Sunday, according to the nonpartisan Gun Violence Archive. The US’s perennially high numbers of mass shootings have prompted many to call for more substantial gun control, though Congress has largely been unwilling or unable to address that issue.
At a Sunday morning news conference, Vito Sinopoli, the police chief, said the seriousness of the victims’ injuries was not clear. It also was not immediately clear if all nine people were shot – one person’s leg injury may have been caused by a fall, he said.
Sinopoli said the large home had been rented out on Airbnb, which is not allowed under local zoning ordinances – and most of the people at the party were under 18. He said the victims may include a mix of juveniles and adults. Social media posts about the party drew a big crowd, he said.
It was not immediately known what sparked the shooting and how many people fired guns, he said. No arrests were announced.
Airbnb said in a statement Sunday that it prohibits “unauthorized and disruptive gatherings”, and it has suspended the property listing and removed the account of the person who rented the home. It said it has seen a 50% decrease in the rate of reported parties since 2020, when it put into effect a global party ban policy.
“We are heartbroken by this senseless act of gun violence, and our thoughts are with the injured victims and all those affected by it,” the company said, adding that it was cooperating with the police investigation.
Sinopoli said another shooting at an Airbnb rental home in town in 2017 wounded a person, who suffered a leg injury.
Sinopoli said he talked with the property owner about the shooting and discussed the town’s prohibition against short-term home rentals. He said home rentals are not a crime, only a zoning violation.
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