LAKE CHARLES, La. — Three teenagers suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds and three others were grazed by bullets when gunfire erupted at a Memorial Day graduation party in Louisiana, authorities said.
Nearly 200 teenagers were at the party in Lake Charles prior to the shooting, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement. After deputies got to the party following multiple calls about gunfire, they found several victims and learned that some people had already been taken to a hospital.
In addition to the six wounded teenagers, deputies said a female, 15, and a male, 18, also suffered other minor injuries amid the panic of the shooting. It was not clear if the two teens were hospitalized for their injuries.
"We're lucky that we don't have several dead bodies," Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso told KPLC-TV. "This could have been much more tragic than it is already."
Following an investigation, deputies said they learned Devin L. Levier, who had been taken to a hospital, was responsible for the shooting. They arrested Mary M. Brignac, who had transported Levier to the hospital, after allegedly finding a stolen gun during a search of her car.
Investigators are also asking the public's help in identifying two other men who they say were seen in surveillance video holding guns and interacting with Levier, 17, at the party.
Levier, who is being treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound to his abdomen, will be booked into a correctional center upon his release from a hospital, deputies said. His bond has been set at $70,000.
Brignac was booked into the same facility that is set to house Levier on a $7,000 bond. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers who could comment on their behalf.
Authorities did not immediately reveal the status of the shooting victims.
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