At least two people died and eight were injured after an early Sunday shooting at a nightclub in South Carolina, according to authorities.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting occurred just before 2 a.m. at the Lavish Lounge, located about 5 miles southwest of downtown Greenville, in the northern region of the state of South Carolina.
“It is a terrible situation to be honest,” Sheriff Hobart Lewis said at a press conference on Sunday morning.
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Lewis said two Greenville County Sheriff’s deputies were driving when they noticed a riot at the Lavish Lounge just before 2 a.m. and saw a large crowd rush out of the building.
At least two people died and eight were injured in a shooting at a South Carolina nightclub early Sunday.
(WHNS-FOX reporter Cody Alcorn)
The two officers then entered the club when people started yelling, heard more gunshots, and then entered the building, according to the sheriff.
There were “active shots fired from inside the building,” Lt. Jimmy Bolt said in an initial statement, and Lewis said all the shots were fired inside.
“There are a lot of cases inside,” Lewis told reporters.
Fox Carolina reporter Cody Alcorn said a DJ inside the club captured the shooting in a Facebook live video.
Lewis and Bolt initially said 12 people had been injured, with at least four critically ill, Lewis said, but Bolt later told WYFF-TV that the death toll had been revised.
No one was immediately arrested.
The sheriff’s office had “some suspicious information,” Lewis said at the press conference, but was not sure if there were multiple shooters.
“We really don’t have a person of interest that we can name,” Lewis said, adding later that authorities were unsure of what led to the shooting.
At least two people died and eight were injured in a shooting at a South Carolina nightclub early Sunday.
(WHNS-FOX reporter Cody Alcorn)
The names and precise conditions of the victims were not immediately disclosed. Lewis said the victims were taken to Prisma Health Hospital in Greenville, many of them in private vehicles since the facility is “very close.”
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Multiple forensic units remained on the scene hours after the initial shooting, according to Alcorn.
Lewis said a “very large crowd” was at the nightclub for “some kind of concert. A post on the Lavish Lounge Facebook page announced a performance by cheating rapper Foogiano on July 4.
A reserve representative told the Associated Press in a text message that Foogiano was fine and that his team was safe.
Coronavirus cases in South Carolina have increased rapidly and the state’s rate of positive results is three times higher than the recommended level.
In late June, Greenville, which has experienced some of the highest COVID-19 rates in the state, became the first city to require facial covers in South Carolina, where Governor Henry McMaster has refused to implement a requirement for mask throughout the state.
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McMaster reminded South Carolinians last week that he had not lifted restrictions on large crowds, and that those who operate nightclubs illegally or perform concerts against their orders do not have to be caught on the spot to face criminal charges. They could be charged weeks later if the COVID-19 cases go back.
Lewis said at the press conference that he did not know whether the club had applied for a waiver from the governor’s order or had obtained a permit for Saturday night’s event, but said it was clear that the club’s sponsors were not 6 feet away.
“It certainly is not the best situation to stop the spread of this virus,” said the sheriff.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
