No one has been arrested in a shooting that hurt two young adults at a country bonfire gathering outside Reliance, Wyoming, Saturday evening, the local sheriff's office says.
The suspected shooter is a juvenile, according to a statement Sweetwater County Sheriff's Spokesman Jason Mower released Monday. Typically, that means authorities will not release the suspect's name unless and until he or she is charged as an adult.
Gunfire erupted at an impromptu gathering north of Rock Springs late Saturday night, the statement says. Deputies responded to the report of shots fired at about 11:30 p.m. near "The Pits" in the Winton area outside of Reliance, where a group of juveniles and young adults were having a bonfire.
Both victims suffered "significant injuries," the statement continues. Doctors treated one victim locally and released him or her. First responders took the other victim to Utah for further care, it says.
"Sheriff’s detectives have identified everyone involved and continue interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence," says the statement. Besides withholding the suspect's identity, the statement says, the sheriff's office is also withholding the victims' identities and details about their injuries to protect the integrity of the case, which is still a “very” active investigation.
Sheriff John Grossnickle expressed frustration over what the announcement calls the ongoing challenge of policing those types of gatherings in remote areas.
“We routinely patrol these desert parties, but by the time we get wind of one, word spreads, and they change locations,” Grossnickle said in the release. “That makes intervening incredibly difficult before something goes wrong, like it did on Saturday night.”
Mower said there is no ongoing threat to the public, and authorities will release further details "only as appropriate and as they arise."
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
