Two people died and eight others were injured during a shooting at a nightclub in Greenville, South Carolina, during a musical performance early Sunday morning.
Officers who had been patrolling in the area rushed to the Lavish Club after hearing gunshots and began evacuating people. Authorities have suspicious information but did not identify a person of interest, Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said.
The sheriff said two officers were leaving a call when they saw a crowd flee the scene around 1:50 a.m.
“So they float and stop and look, like they see what was happening and that’s when they hear multiple shots,” Lewis said. “And they parked here in front of the club and ran inside … trying to stop that threat.”
Although authorities initially said 12 people were shot, there were 10 victims of the shooting, Lt. Jimmy Bolt of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office told NBC News. Bolt blamed the mistaken account for the confusion immediately after the incident. Two were pronounced dead in hospital and eight were injured, and their conditions ranged from non-life threatening to criticism.
Emergency medical services took victims to nearby hospitals when other agencies came to help.
It’s unclear if it was just a shooter, since the nightclub had a lot of casings inside. Lewis said the incident could be gang related, although he did not give a reason why he believed that was the case.
“It’s a very active thing within the club,” said Lewis. “There is a small stage where some artists performed for a group. Everything is overturned, there are some chairs there, food on the floor for the busted models. You can tell someone has left in a hurry.
Lewis said he was not sure why the club was open due to the state’s current coronavirus restrictions. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster allowed several companies to reopen, but entertainment venues such as nightclubs and theaters remained closed.
“We don’t know if they filed an appeal to do that or not about the governor’s order,” Lewis said. “I do know they were serving alcohol there and that sort of thing. I don’t know how many people. I know there was a very, very large crowd … with very little room for any kind of social distancing. “
Authorities are contacting the governor’s office to verify if Club Lavish filed an appeal to the state order.
The coronavirus is on the rise in South Carolina, and the state reported more than 1,800 new cases on Saturday. South Carolina has had a total of 43,386 cases, according to tracking data from NBC News.
