NEED TO KNOW
- On Monday, Sept. 1, a woman drove a red minivan into a crowd of people attending Harrisburg’s Kipona Festival in Pennsylvania
- Local police captain Atah Akakpo-Martin confirmed that three people were rushed to the hospital following the incident, according to reports
- Police are investigating if the driver intentionally drove into the crowd and if they were the only person in the vehicle at the time
At least three people have been injured, including a child, after a minivan plowed into the crowd at a Pennsylvania festival held over Labor Day weekend.
At around 6 p.m. local time on Monday, Sept. 1, a woman in a red minivan drove around a barricaded area of Harrisburg’s Kipona Festival into the crowd on South Front Street. The incident came as the annual three-day event, which celebrates the region’s Native American heritage, was wrapping up, ABC News and local outlet ABC 27 reported, citing Harrisburg Bureau of Police Captain Atah Akakpo-Martin.
“That vehicle was stopped a couple of blocks later and the driver was apprehended, taken out of the vehicle,” Captain Atah Akakpo-Martin said in a press conference, per local outlet CBS 21 News.
Akakpo-Martin confirmed that a woman and a child were taken to the hospital following the incident, as well as a city worker who had tried to stop the vehicle.
Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams said the child was a 6-year-old boy, who is in critical condition, while the other two adults injured are in a stable condition, according to ABC News.
Amid an ongoing investigation into the incident, police have stated it’s unclear if the driver of the vehicle intentionally drove into the crowd.
It is also unconfirmed if the driver was the only person in the vehicle or if she was injured, per the outlet.
Photos from the scene show that the front of the red minivan was crushed after striking multiple objects and victims. Debris from the bumper and hood of the vehicle was scattered across the area, ABC 27 reported.
Officers had been in the process of clearing the festival before the “random act” took place, lasting “less than a minute,” Captain Atah Akakpo-Martin said in the press conference, per CBS 21 News.
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Police have put up yellow crime tape restricting access to the area while they continue to investigate.
Harrisburg Police Bureau, Mayor Wanda R.D. Williams and the City of Harrisburg event organizers did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
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