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Amarillo police are seeking the public’s help to identify suspects in a shooting at an apartment complex that killed two teenagers and wounded 10 others in the early-morning hours, according to police and city authorities.
City authorities said the attack happened at about 2 a.m. Saturday at an apartment complex in Amarillo, located close to Interstate 40 about 6 miles (10 kilometers) west of downtown. Police did not release details about a motive.
Amarillo police said the people involved were at a party at a different location earlier and were asked to leave before going to the apartment complex where the shooting occurred. In a statement Saturday, Police Chief Thomas Hover said investigators have identified that the suspects had an affiliation with the targeted location and were known to one of the occupants at the party.
Police released surveillance video showing two suspects opening fire at the outside of an apartment. The video, according to the account released with the investigation update, shows yelling and screaming followed by more gunshots.
Police asked local residents to check doorbell and surveillance cameras for any unusual activity around the time of the shooting. Messages were left Sunday for police officials and for management of the apartment complex.
Neighbor Phillip Thrasher described what he saw after coming outside. “When I looked outside and came outside it was complete chaos,” Thrasher told KTVT-TV, adding that “kids” were running around and that “moms and dads” arrived to help their children.
Thrasher said many children were distressed. “The ones that could, the ones that couldn’t were so upset,” he told the station. “I mean there was nothing you could do.”
Amarillo police said the two killed teenagers were 16 and 17 years old, and they did not release the conditions of the wounded. Hover said police increased patrol staffing after separate shootings earlier this month in Amarillo that killed six people on March 22.