A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound after what Dickinson, North Dakota police describe as an exchange of gunfire between two groups late Thursday night, in a shooting that investigators say does not appear to have been a random act of violence.
Officers were called to the 900 block of Meadows Drive around 11:44 p.m. Thursday after reports of shots fired, arriving to what one officer described as a chaotic scene. Police say a vehicle left the area at a high rate of speed and later delivered the injured teenager to a local hospital.
Investigators believe groups knew each other
Detectives with the Dickinson Police Department said their working theory is that the shooting stemmed from a targeted confrontation between two groups of people who were acquainted with one another, rather than a random attack on the neighborhood. Police have emphasized that they do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the public.
The teenager’s injuries were described as non-life-threatening, and he was treated at a hospital following the shooting. No arrests had been announced as of Friday, and the Dickinson Police Department said the investigation into the shooting remains active.
A small city grappling with a rare late-night shooting
Dickinson, a city of roughly 25,000 in southwestern North Dakota’s oil-producing Bakken region, sees far fewer violent crime incidents than larger metro areas in the state, making Thursday night’s shooting a notable event for the community. Police have not released the names of those believed to be involved in the exchange of gunfire, citing the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information about the shooting has been asked to contact the Dickinson Police Department.
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