"I know that he was a father," Mayor on person killed in Father's Day mass shooting in Elkhart

Mayor Rod Roberson held an emergency press conference Sunday, where he told the media the victims' names are being withheld for now, but he did share that the person who died was a father.

He says that the man's kids were left without a father on the day they were supposed to be celebrating him.

ABC57 spoke with neighbors who described the large gathering on Garfield Avenue as an annual block party.

But it quickly turned into the scene of a mass shooting.

"We just hear one shot, after that it was maybe 2 or 3 seconds when we heard like 7 shots like after another and after that it was just chaos," says Miguel Flores, who lives near the scene.

Flores was just one of several who witnessed the chaos while sitting on their porches just after 1am on Sunday.

"Me and the people who was out on the porch with me, we took off and ran inside and get on the floor and hid," says another neighbor, Jackie McCoy.

"A lot of people running and into cars and trying to hide, it was a mess after that," Flores recalls.

Elkhart PD says officers on scene had their hands full between rendering aid, talking to witnesses, and securing the scene.

"We kept the scene as safe as possible, not only for the officers but for everyone there," says Captain Travis Hamlin with the Elkhart Police Department. "We made sure while we were taking care of people's loved ones that they felt safe and that we were doing our job making sure that their loved ones were being cared for as best as we could while we were doing our job of finding or locating anybody that we could to make sure that area was safe for people to get in and out of without having anymore tragedy that already happened."

In the midst of the chaos, those who were behind the gun or guns were able to get away.

Mayor Roberson and police are pleading with the public to come forward if they have any information that can aid in the investigation, because he wants to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

"These types of shootings need to stop," says Mayor Roberson. "We need to make sure we're doing the right thing for these families and all of those that could have lost their lives during this senseless act."

They say no amount of information is too small, and video footage is especially helpful.

If anyone has information that can aid in the investigation, they're urged to either submit an anonymous tip through the Elkhart PD's website, or call the Homicide Unit directly, 574- 295-2825.