A 16-year-old boy was arrested yesterday in connection with the shootings of seven children near the entrance to the National Zoo in Washington on Monday. The shooting left one boy in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head and left six others with less serious injuries.
Police did not release the identity of the 16-year-old who was charged with assault with intent to kill.
The juvenile was arrested without incident at a residence in northeast Washington DC, police said. "The shooting appears to be the result of an altercation between two groups of people who were visiting the National Zoo," police chief, Mr Charles Ramsey, said in a statement.
Mr Ramsey said the rival gangs had been fighting inside the zoo but that shooting broke out only when they had been moved out onto busy Connecticut Avenue. Parents and children scattered in panic when the shooting started.
Mayor Anthony Williams said yesterday that "whether it's officially a gang activity or not, the fact of the matter is that there were two groups of youths who were scuffling, who were fighting throughout the afternoon, and as all too often happens, had ready access to guns and the results speak for themselves."
The zoo, which covers 163 acres of Rock Creek Park in north-west Washington, was closed yesterday.
The latest shooting, following closely on the first anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School, has renewed calls for stricter gun control. Vice-President Al Gore used the Washington shooting to promote his campaign for greater controls when he addressed a Democratic fund-raiser in New York.