Remote Area Medical waiting lines temporarily evacuated after gunshots fired nearby

Dozens of people waiting in line to receive free medical care at Union County High School were evacuated early Saturday morning when gunshots were fired in a park nearby.

The school is the site of this weekend's Remote Area Medical expedition in Maynardville. Officers estimate about 200-250 people were waiting in line to receive numbers for Saturday's medical clinic when the site was evacuated.

National Guard members directing the waiting lines reported hearing gunshots that sounded like they were coming from a nearby park shortly before midnight.

Officers responded to Wilson Park, next to the school, and began to search for the source of the gunfire.

One officer saw a man with a rifle and asked him to stop, but he took off running into the woods.

While officers pursued him, they heard more shots coming from a different direction.

They followed the direction of the gunfire and found a car with five juveniles inside, who were leaving the area after hunting raccoons.

The group had a dead raccoon with them. They told officers they killed the animal earlier in the night. They also explained during questioning that they did not realize there were people nearby or that they were firing in the direction of law enforcement officers.

Officers took the juveniles, three males and two females, into custody, but no charges will be filed.

Officers are waiting for the teens' parents to come pick them up and they will discuss the severity of the incident with them.

Police believe the other man had also been coon hunting and fled because hunting is not legal on the property.

Officials evacuated the RAM site during the incident as a precaution. The patients were not directed to a specific location, but were ordered to leave the property.

Officers allowed the patients to re-enter the school parking lot after they resolved the situation.

RAM officials will begin handing out numbers at 3:30 a.m. for Saturday's clinic on a first-come, first-served basis.

The health expedition opens at 6 a.m. The clinic will be open at the same times on Sunday.