Shooting at party in Harris County, Houston kills 3

Local authorities said Saturday at least three people lost their lives during a shooting at a party in Harris County, outside Houston, with officials ascertaining the number of shooters and the motive.

Authorities said that the shooting took place at a short-term rental home at around 2am in which two people were also injured. As the officers arrived at the scene, it was chaotic in the city of Katy, west of Houston, according to local media KPRC 2.

The officials noted that two people were found deceased while the third victim died at the hospital due to injuries.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said during a press conference: "We believe this was a small gathering that turned deadly."

Sheriff also noted that investigators aren’t sure whether the suspected shooter or shooters were already inside the house, or if someone came uninvited to the house and began opening fire.

There is also evidence of shots being fired outside the house along the street, he added.

"Police are working to investigate the shooting and identify suspects and determine if other people were injured," Gonzalez said.

This shooting comes weeks after the Perry High School shooting that occurred on January 4 killing two people.

The mass shooting incidents raised concerns about gun violence which is a prevalent issue in the US. According to the data, firearms outnumber the population in the US, and attempts to address their spread face substantial political resistance.

The United States has already witnessed three mass shootings in the early days of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an NGO defining a mass shooting as an incident resulting in four or more people wounded or killed.

School shootings, in particular, serve as poignant reminders of the political deadlock surrounding gun control. In a tragic incident in Uvalde, Texas in May 2022, a man took the lives of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school.