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Officials were still trying to piece together how a block party left two people dead and 35 others wounded, early Sunday in south-central Georgia.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that shots were fired at about 1:25 a.m. in Vienna, a rural community about two hours south of Atlanta.
Two men were pronounced dead at the scene.
Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy identified them as JaQuevion Jackson, 21, of Cordele, Georgia; and Macaleb Jackson, 23, of Hawkinsville, Georgia.
The Dooly County coroner, Brett Watts, said they each had a single gunshot wound, though an autopsy by the medical examiner\u2019s office, scheduled for Friday, could provide a fuller picture. He said the men\u2019s families have been notified.
The violence took place at a neighborhood celebration that spanned four blocks, Peavy said at a Sunday night news conference.
The 35 wounded ranged in age from 14 to 51, and were taken to several regional hospitals, he said, adding that their conditions ranged from stable to critical.
\u201cA majority were gunshot victims,\u201d he said.
Deputies were patrolling the party at the time, the sheriff added.
\u201cIt was so many people, and it was just hard to figure out what was going on,\u201d Peavy said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation declined to say whether authorities had determined a motive or identified a suspect.
The investigation into the shooting was \u201cactive and ongoing,\u201d Lydia Bullard, the bureau\u2019s public affairs specialist, said in a statement to NBC News.
The incident took place over homecoming weekend for Dooly County High School.
The shooting was not at a school-sponsored event, said Sherrod Willaford, superintendent of the Dooly County School System.
\u201cWe recognize that its impact may reach many of our students, families, and staff,\u201d he said in a statement. Schools will open Monday, he said, but additional safety measures have been put in place. He did not specify what they were.
Peavy said the festivities began Friday night, and that it had \u201cgone well\u201d with \u201crespect from the community\u201d that evening as deputies patrolled the event. But the party Saturday night was a \u201cdifferent story,\u201d he said.
\u201cWe\u2019re still working through the investigation to see what went wrong. But at large parties with people from different places, not just your locals, sometimes problems come,\u201d Peavy added.
Aria Bendix is the breaking health reporter for NBC News Digital.
Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
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