Witness describes chaos of Senior Skip Day shooting in Greenbelt that left 5 teens injured
GREENBELT, Md. - FOX 5 is following the investigation into a shooting during a senior skip day gathering at Greenbelt’s Schrom Hill Park in Prince George’s County.
Five teenage boys were shot and the gunman remains on the loose.
Three of the five boys who were shot have been released from the hospital. Another remains in the hospital in stable condition and a fifth was in critical condition but was upgraded to stable.
FOX 5 spoke with a man who witnessed the lead-up and aftermath of the shooting as he ducked for cover too.
"A bullet don’t discriminate and everybody was scared," witness Dave Bimbai said.
Bimbai says he spends nearly every day sitting in his parked car, writing a book. Friday afternoon seemed status quo until the lot seemed to fill up quickly.
"It was a ton of people. I wanted to leave, but I couldn’t leave because I didn’t know where to go," Bimbai said.
Greenbelt Police believe between 500 to 600 kids were participating in an informal Senior Skip Day and gathered at Schrom Hill Park. One officer was there for traffic and crowd control and as additional officers arrived, gunfire erupted.
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"The pop of the gun made me freak inside. I couldn’t get out to run, because where are you going to run?" said Bimbai.
Bimbai detailed the chaos that followed: Officers with guns drawn, not knowing where the shooter was and scared kids ducking for cover.
"What a horrible, horrible tragedy for all of us," Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said.
Alsobrooks spoke with FOX 5 Saturday morning, saying the county has worked to invest in kids and empower police to work gun crimes. She added that more needs to be done to keep guns out of the wrong hands.
"It’s so unfair. It’s so unfair that these kids now have to feel that it’s unsafe for them to enjoy what really is a natural part of childhood," Alsobrooks said.
Bimbai expressed gratitude for the first responders, particularly those he says gave CPR to a kid who was shot.
"I’m so thankful because that guy was in deep trouble. If there wasn’t CPR I don’t think he’d make it," Bimbai said.
For now, police believe it was one shooter who ran away with the crowd as the chaos unfolded. They say they’re going through body-worn footage and cell phone video but are still asking those with pictures, video, or information to send that to investigators.