Buena Park Police Sergeant. Mario Escamilla stated. Multiple shots were fired from a vehicle south of La Palma on Beach Boulevard. This is outside of the northeast Knott’s section that includes Camp Snoopy.
Escamilla stated that one boy was taken to the Orange County Fire Authority for treatment and then the other boy was taken to the hospital. The boys did not appear to be seriously injured. They were not given their ages or other details.
Escamilla stated Saturday that there was no description of either the shooter or vehicle. Escamilla said Saturday that it was still being investigated whether there had been a confrontation prior to the shooting.
A teen boy is seen in an Instagram photo wearing a dark-colored jacket, dark pants, and white shoes. The jacket shows what appears to have been a bullet hole and blood seeping through. In the video, he claims that he was shot in his leg. Escamilla stated that the video “appears to” be of him being shot in the leg, but detectives have yet to confirm that.
Knott’s stated that it would be open on Saturday. Numerous phone calls to media relations were unsuccessful Saturday.
The park-goers’ accounts were chilling about the shooting and the panic that followed.
Zachery Lewis was visiting the park with his family when “out of nowhere people began running from the bumper cars,” he said to Adrian Pineda (a videographer for OC Hawk). “I first checked around, and thought it was a fire. I could smell the burning. Then I heard it: “Gun!” Gun! Gun!
Lewis stated that he witnessed people being knocked around and falling over shortly after the shooting. He tried to help others get up and dislocated his shoulder. A friend supported him with his arm, while he held his arm high. He was separated from his friends and ended up hiding in a public bathroom with strangers.
Police said that some people had twisted their ankles while running away from the scene.
Melody Padilla, a park employee, said that panicked children started to panic and kids were losing their way because they didn’t know what was happening.
Mark Ahrens sought refuge in the park, and uploaded a picture to Twitter of him and a boy who were waiting for the situation to resolve. Their expressions reflected the uncertainty at the time.
“An audio tech called Rod allowed us to hide behind his small stage in his tech storage. Some of us prayed. “Then, we were led backstage,” Ahrens wrote.
