The Associated Press
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By RON WORD, Associated Press Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Six teenagers were wounded Tuesday in two separate shootings near downtown that police believe may have been retaliation for a fight about a girl, authorities said.
All six victims, between the ages of 15 and 17, were being treated at a hospital, said Ken Jefferson, a spokesman for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
In the first shooting, four men sitting on a porch were peppered with birdshot from a shotgun fired from a passing car around 2:30 p.m., said Sheriff John Rutherford.
About a block away, shots were fired between two cars and police said two people were wounded in that exchange.
Because of the proximity of the two shootings and the short time frame involved, authorities believe they could be connected, Rutherford said. Investigators were looking into reports that the shootings were retaliation after a fight about a girl about two days ago.
“This was a targeted situation,” Rutherford said. “This was not a random event.”
None of the injuries was considered life threatening, sheriff’s spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda said. All the injured victims appeared to know each other, but the sheriff said they were not cooperating with authorities.
The shootings occurred in the Talleyrand area near Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars football team. Children were walking home from an elementary school at the time.