Nine shot, one killed outside party in San Bernardino County, police say

Nine people were shot, one of them fatally, outside a party in San Bernardino County late Friday, police said.

Officers were dispatched to the scene in the city of Highland shortly before midnight and encountered a large crowd, Sgt. Equino Thomas, a spokesman for the San Bernardino Police Department, wrote in an email.

Allen Gresham Jr., 20, of San Bernardino was fatally shot outside a business in the 3600 block of East Highland Avenue, San Bernardino police said.

The incident took place during “an unpermitted special event held illicitly at Tha Blu Flame Lounge,� police said.

Authorities later learned of eight other shooting victims, many of whom took themselves to hospitals, Thomas said. They were being treated for injuries that appeared to be non-life-threatening, he said.

A witness told KTLA that shots were also fired at a Mobil gas station across the street from the shopping center. Video from the scene showed the gas station and shopping center roped off with crime scene tape.

“We just heard gunshots and a lot of kids running,� said a witness who did not want to be named, KTLA reported. “Most of the kids were under 18 years.�

There was no word on a suspect as of Saturday morning, and no arrests had been made.

Preliminary information indicated that the victims were not intentionally targeted, and that the shooting might have stemmed from a conflict in a crowded room at the party, Thomas said.