GALVESTON, Texas — Several people were seriously injured in a shooting on The Strand at the Lone Star Rally Saturday night, according to the Galveston Police Department.
Police identified Peddis Ray, 20, of Hitchcock, as the alleged shooter. He was detained at the scene and found to have a gun.
Ray is now charged with six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said Sunday. Each count carries a bond of $100,000 with a total bond of $600,000. Ray is currently booked into the Galveston County Jail.
“Unfortunately, we believe this incident is related to ongoing gun-related violence in Galveston County, and nothing has shown it is related to the rally itself,” Galveston Police Chief Douglas Balli said Sunday in a press release. “The suspect claims to be a member of a local gang and we believe the investigation will show the suspect was targeting rival gang members.”
This happened at one of the country's largest motorcycle rallies. The shooting happened around 11 p.m. on The Strand between 21st and 23rd streets. Several blocks were closed off as police conducted their investigation.
Organizers said on Sunday that the final day of the event will go on as planned.
6 people injured in shooting at Lone Star Rally in Galveston
Leslie Ponce said she was steps away from where the shooting occurred.
“My brother-in-law was like you need to duck down, and I just seen everybody running,” she said. “It was just a brutal situation and just chaotic.”
Sykies Usayes said he works on The Strand where the shooting took place.
Customers rushed into his store for cover. After calming them down, he went outside and saw the victims.
“One of them, he was trying to prop himself up and keep himself stable and conscious but the other guy leaning in the corner. I was really concerned for him,” he said.
VIEWER VIDEO: The gunshots can be heard in this viewer video as the shooting unfolded:
Paramedics rushed to treat the wounded. Initially, police said five people were shot but later updated that to six. Five were taken to The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to be treated. The sixth victim did not seek medical treatment.
Police said of the victims who were hospitalized, one is in critical condition, two required surgery and are expected to make full recoveries, and two others did not require surgery and are also expected to fully recover.
Police, organizers describe shooting at Lone Star Rally as 'isolated incident'
“We believe this is an isolated incident,” the chief said early Sunday. “We have never had any type of violence like this at Lone Star Rally before. And hopefully, we will never have anything like this again.”
Lone Star Rally organizers said the shooting is not reflective of the 400,000 people attending the rally.
“There is such a heavy police presence, special forces, you name it, that’s why we want to keep this a safe rally, always, you know this is an unfortunate incident,” Usayes said.
Usayes said he hopes the shooting doesn’t scare people away from The Strand.
“This was just crazy, we were having such a good time, we were having a good flow and then all this happened and just really put a damper on it cause we were wanting to make money today but we’re not sure if that will happen,” he said.
Looking for your motorcycle at the Lone Star Rally?
Police closed off a four-block stretch of The Strand. This left many Lone Star Rally attendees with their motorcycles stuck in a crime scene.
Balli said police were working to reopen the roads so the motorcycle owners could retrieve their bikes.
The forensics crime scene officers left the scene at about 2 a.m. Balli said anyone who had not retrieved their rides can call Galveston Police at 409-765-3702.
Here is what Galveston Police Chief Douglas Balli about the shooting:
The Lone Star Rally is the largest four-day motorcycle rally in North America. Promotors said 400,000 people will be attending the event this year.
Law enforcement officers were already on standby monitoring the crowds to help keep people safe.