18-month-old baby remains in ICU after getting shot 6 times, Oxford police say

The youngest child was 18 months old. The oldest victim in the shooting was 64 years old, according to WRAL News' sources.

Oxford Police Chief Pat Ford said an 18-month-old baby remains in the ICU after getting shot six times. The 64-year-old also remains hospitalized, Ford said.

The four other people have been released from the hospital, according to Ford.

"We were fortunate there were no fatalities," Ford said.

Witnesses said the shooting happened at around 9:30 p.m. on Piedmont Avenue and Granville Street in downtown Oxford. That's about half a mile from the Oxford Police Department.

"I would like to say this is random," Ford said. "Who targets an 18-month-old child?"

All six victims were transported to a local hospital. Four of those victims were transported via helicopter to hospitals outside the local area.

"This is a big concern," Ford said. "What happened Saturday night is not Oxford.

" haven’t seen anything in that magnitude in 25 years, and hope it never happens again."

Ford said dozens of people were attending a celebration of life event for Curtis Young, who died a few weeks ago in a car crash. Oxford police Lt. Michael Stockwell said it started as a family gathering.

"They were having a celebration of life at [a] residence [and] something happened," Stockwell said. "We trying to figure out why it took a turn for the worse."

City Commissioner Bryan Cohn was at his home when he said he heard 50 shots fired.

"There’s no words to describe that," he said. "It’s just beyond words.”

He rushed to the scene.

"People [were] screaming. There was a mess," he said. "On site, police were transporting victims in the back of patrol cars," he said.

"It was an absolute horror scene,” Cohn added.

Witnesses who were at a nearby brewery said they saw several shots fired from a car that quickly sped away. Patrons saw police and ambulance rush to the scene minutes after shots were fired.

"We all stopped and looked at each other questioning if it was a gunshot, and within 10 seconds, we heard maybe 10 to 15 more shots," one witness at the brewery told WRAL News. "[It] definitely sounded like multiple shooters. At that point, we heard a car speeding off and we all went inside the brewery and the staff locked the doors."

On Monday, WRAL News spoke with Oxford Mayor Jackie Sergent about the shooting.

"[It is an] absolutely unprecedented tragedy for our small community," Sergent said. "It's heartbreaking. We are grieving all of the victims, praying for all of the victims."

Sergent said the news was shocking and distressing.

"The level of this was extraordinary and likely very chaotic," Sergent said.

Oxford police did not release information about a possible suspect or suspects, who remain at large.

Police said the Criminal Division of the Oxford Police Department and the State Bureau of Investigation are conducting the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. Detective Kevin Dickerson at the Oxford Police Department at 919-693-3161. People are also encouraged to reach out to Crime Stoppers at 919-693-3100.