Two young men have been arrested and charged in connection with a shooting at a Houston house party over the weekend that left two people dead and 19 wounded, authorities announced Monday.
According to the Associated Press, Willie Young, 21 and Randy Stewart, 18, were arrested Monday morning. Young was charged with deadly conduct, while Stewart was charged with aggravated assault.
It was initially reported that the melee happened after a celebratory gunshot was fired in the air during the party. The event was heavily hyped on social media, and had some 100 attendees, ranging in age from 17 to 19.
Partygoers then told investigators that the single gunshot fired in the air didn't cause confusion and spark reaction. The attendees instead said that once Stewart and Young entered the home, they drew their guns and began firing into the crowd randomly.
Jamario Wilson told investigators that he saw Willie Young in the living room with a gun, firing in his direction, the Associated Press reports.
Harris County sheriff's office spokesman Alan Bernstein said investigators do not believe that specific people were the intended targets or that individuals were hunted down or singled out in the house. Bernstein believes that bullet holes in the ceiling and other evidence supports the theory that everything began with the celebratory gunfire.
"Someone in a crowd of people that is randomly being fired upon is probably going to see a weapon pointed at them randomly … That does not mean they believe they were singled out and it doesn't mean we believe the shooter singled them out," AP reports.
The victim killed at the scene has been identified as 17-year-old Qu'eric Richardson. A 16-year-old girl, who died at a hospital, was identified as Arielle Shepherd, AP reports.
Monday's arrests came on the same day that Cypress Woods High School officials said grief counselors were provided for students at the school where both slain teens were enrolled.
Read more at the Associated Press.