They were sprayed with bullets at a vigil for a shooting victim on the same street, police say

It was supposed to be a peaceful gathering in memory of 29-year-old Brandon Meeks, who was killed in a shooting Monday — but it ended with a drive-by shooting that left one dead and three more injured.

Among the injured is a 9-year-old girl, who was at the vigil that took place in front of the same house in the South Side of Columbus, Ohio, that Meeks was shot and killed at, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The vigil shooting happened Wednesday around 9 p.m., according to the Dispatch, when a car began to spray those gathered with bullets, even as they began to run away.

The four people struck by bullets were rushed to a local hospital, including Chaz Robertson, 32, who died shortly after, WRAL reported.

Robertson is the 132nd homicide victim in the city of Columbus in 2017, NBC4 reported.

Police say they are unsure if there is any connection between Wednesday’s shooting and the shooting Monday that killed Meeks, who neighbors said was disabled and used crutches, the Dispatch reported.

So far, police say no arrests have been made.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were over 38,000 deaths related to guns in 2016. Around two thirds of those deaths are by suicide.

It’s a problem that is particularly bad in America, as the number of gun deaths by homicide in this country is six times that of Canada and 16 times the number of such deaths in Germany, according to Vox.

This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 6:17 AM with the headline "They were sprayed with bullets at a vigil for a shooting victim on the same street, police say."