Coon Rapids Police are searching for suspects in connection with a Friday night shooting at the Emma B. Howe YMCA.

A 16-year-old boy was wounded in the gunfire but is expected to survive.

“We heard gunshots boom, boom, boom, boom. My friend ran straight, and I ran upstairs,” recalls Deontae Depratto. “The manager told everyone to get down and he took us into the yoga room, and we just stayed there until the police came.”

Witnesses described a chaotic, frightening scene.

Several people told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS they heard multiple gunshots in what was described as a busy night at the YMCA.

RELATED: Shooting leaves 1 injured at YMCA in Coon Rapids

Some say after the gunshots, they ran for their lives.  

“One guy is on the call with 911 and we were running the opposite direction to whatever door we could find,” says Adrian Mustyatsa, who was in the basketball court. “I was running and praying to God the whole time, you know.”

Officers, arriving just before 8 p.m., found the wounded 16-year-old inside.  

“We do believe the shooter was actually standing outside the YMCA firing into the building,” says Deputy Chief Adam Jacobson with Coon Rapids Police. “At this point, we don’t believe this is a random shooting. It involved separate groups who were known to each other.”  

Police say the incident was part of ‘an ongoing conflict’ between the two groups.

“It’s concerning young people are making decisions based on limited information, based on emotion a lot of times,” Jacobson says. “They don’t think about the consequences of what they’re actually doing, such as you could go to jail, but you could also be killed or injured yourself.”

Concern about youth violence was the central topic at a youth violence summit in Minneapolis on Saturday.

“This has to stop, the violence within our young people,” says Pethuel LeFlore, director of the Oasis of Life Crisis Intervention Center. “They are our future, we have to bring them forward and let them know we have resources for them, that we have support systems for them.”  

Agape Oasis provides anti-violence peer education and workshops — and encourages young people to act as peace ambassadors at their high schools.

“So, we really focus on getting youth violence off the street,” says Cori Thibodeaux, a workshop participant. “We want to make sure we have a place where students and children and young people have a safe place, a safe environment to talk about youth violence and how it affects them.”

Coon Rapids police say they’re combing through surveillance video from the YMCA and nearby businesses.

The building itself will remain closed all weekend but is expected to open on Monday.

In a statement, the YMCA says it will continue to partner with law enforcement to maintain safety for visitors and employees.

Authorities say they hope to catch suspects in the case soon.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.  

“It’s very concerning, because there were people inside the ‘Y’ last night,” Jacobson says. “It just shows the lack of care that some people have for other people firing a gun into a crowded building.”