Eight hurt in seven shootings over two days in Richland County, cops say
In a span of two days, eight people were injured in seven shootings reported across Richland County by local law enforcement.
No one has died as a result of the gunfire, and it isn’t known if any of the shootings are connected.
The most recent incidents happened early Tuesday morning, according to the Columbia Police Department. Three people were hit by gunfire in the lower body in two shootings that each happened at about 4:30 a.m. on Edgewood Avenue and McAlister Street, police said. The streets are separated by U.S. 1/Two Notch Road.
There’s no information on a gunman, or gunmen, or a motive for the shootings, according to police. Officers are investigating if the shootings are related, and are asking the community for help with information.
These shootings happened after multiple people were hit by gunfire in a flurry of incidents early Sunday morning.
At about 12:30 a.m., Richland County Sheriff’s deputies responded to shots fired call at the Residence Inn hotel at 2320 Legrand Road, near the intersection of Interstate 77 and Farrow Road. Witnesses said a party in a hotel room was broken up when gunshots were fired from the parking lot, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
A 17-year-old was hit by a bullet that went through the hotel wall, and she was rushed to an area hospital by family, according to the release.
Investigators said the shooters were partygoers, but no descriptions were available.
In another shooting at about 2 a.m., deputies responded to Providence Health Northeast after learning about a 23-year-old who suffered a gunshot injury, according to the release.
The man said he was in the 3000 block of Broad River Road, near the intersection with St. Andrews Road, earlier in the night, when he heard gunshots being fired, the sheriff’s department said. As he ran the man told deputies he fell after being struck in the lower body, and he was taken to the hospital by family member, according to the release.
He could not provide a description of the shooter.
At about the same time, but less than 10 miles away at the corner of Fontaine and Scruggs roads, deputies said they responded to another shots fired call. When they arrived, they found a 45-year-old man who had been shot in the lower body, according to the release.
The man told deputies he was walking home on Fontaine Road when two men jumped out of a car and attempted to rob him before they shot him and fled, the sheriff’s department said. The man said he crawled to the nearest house to ask for help, according to the release.
No vehicle or suspect description is available.
Again during the 2 a.m. hour, deputies said they were called to the hospital about a man who had been shot.
The man said he had been at a party on Leesburg Road, where he saw someone trying to break into his truck, the sheriff’s department said. The man confronted the would-be thief and they got into a fight that ended with the thief pulling out a gun and leaving the scene after a loud pop was heard, according to the release.
On his way home, the man saw he was bleeding from a gunshot injury on his lower body, and a family member drove him to the hospital, the sheriff’s department said.
According to the man, the sheriff’s department described the shooter as a man with twists in his hair, in his mid-20s, who was wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans and a blue bandana at the time of the gunfire.
Later Sunday night at about 7:20 p.m., deputies said they were again called to the hospital for another gunshot victim.
The man said he was walking near the movie theater at the Village at Sandhill when he heard a scuffle between two unknown men, the sheriff’s department said. The man then realized he had been shot in the lower body, then ran and asked for help before he was taken to the hospital for treatment, according to the release.
There is no description of the shooter.
“It’s unclear if any of the shootings are related. All are under investigation at this time,” the sheriff’s department said.
Anyone with information on any of the shootings is asked to call 911, or CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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