Georgia gas station shooting leaves 9 children injured

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Police in Georgia say that nine children were hurt in a Friday night gas station shooting with the youngest victim being just 5-years-old. 

Police officers in Columbus, Georgia were dispatched to the Shell gas station on Warm Springs Road on Friday night around 10 p.m. Responding officers reported a large group of people with nine shooting victims, police said in a press conference on Saturday.

"Based on our preliminary investigation, we learned that an altercation took place at a party that was nearby," Columbus Police Chief Freddie Blackmon said, adding that all the victims were under the age of 18.

The nine victims include a preteen and a 5-year-old boy who is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

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Shell gas station on Warm Springs Road in Columbus, Georgia (Google Earth)

Seven of the victims are male and two are female, Blackmon said.

Police say the ages of the children injured were 5, 12, three 13-year-olds, 14, two 15-year-olds, and 17.

None of the children are believed to have suffered a life-threatening injury.

Blackmon said an altercation may have taken place at the party, hosted at a nearby "warehouse location," and that the argument spilled over into the gas station. 

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Columbus Police Chief Freddie Blackmon speaks at press conference (Columbus Police Department Facebook)

"We’re still working to develop the information to find out exactly what occurred, and how many individuals are involved," he said.

"While Columbus is not immune to these incidents, I want to assure citizens that the men and women of CPD are tirelessly working to get violent offenders off our streets," Blackmon said in a statement before the press conference.  

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"It is going to take a community effort to combat gun violence in our city. The entire village has a responsibility because incidents like this impact all of us."