GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — City leaders in Snellville are vowing to increase security at a popular park after two shootings over the weekend left six people shot.
Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson spoke to a witness who said he and his family ran for their lives at Briscoe Park on Saturday.
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Another shooting happened Sunday by the softball fields, forcing families to again duck for cover and run.
Multiple police officers were making the rounds at the park Monday.
“Stray bullets were flying. My kids could have got hit. I could have got hit. My wife could have got hit,” said witness Paul Williams.
Williams thought he was taking his pregnant niece to a quiet park for photos Saturday night.
Instead, he found himself running for cover with his group with eight children as gunfire erupted at Briscoe Park in Snellville.
“We got to the car. My kids got in the car. My kids are crying. We are rushing into the car,” he said.
He said more than 100 teenagers from multiple high schools had gathered at the park around 9 p.m.
He was taking photos near the gazebo when the shooting started just 200 feet away.
“I literally see the muzzle flashes, like real close,” Williams said.
Five teenagers between 14 and 17 years old were shot and sent to the hospital.
The next afternoon brought another shooting at the same park.
Snellville police say a domestic argument led to one man shooting another near the softball fields that also happened in front of families.
Snellville police have not announced arrests in either shooting. The city vows to increase patrols, add security, and address lighting and cameras.
Williams says the violence has left a lasting impact on his 8-year-old twin sons.
“They don’t want to go outside; they don’t want to go back to the park,” he said.
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