School put on lockdown after man with gunshot wound walks in seeking help, SC cops say

A South Carolina elementary school went into lockdown Tuesday morning after a man with a gunshot wound walked in asking for help, according to the Spartanburg Police Department.

The man, who was not identified, was taken by ambulance to a hospital, officials said. His condition was not released.

It happened around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Jesse Boyd Elementary School, according to a news release. The school has about 470 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The man was wounded in a shooting that involved a relative and occurred at a nearby apartment community on Fernwood Glendale Road, police said in a news release. Spartanburg is about 95 miles northwest of Columbia.

“The victim walked from the apartment complex ... seeking help. Individuals and medical staff at the school called E911 and provided first aid until EMS arrived,” police said.

“When officers arrived, the victim was suffering from a single gunshot wound to his lower right side.”

The school went into lockdown and a search for the shooter was launched in the surrounding area, officials said.

A suspect, Sammy Lee Ellis Jr., was arrested about an hour later “in the breezeway” of a nearby apartment complex, officials said

Ellis was identified as the stepfather of the man who was wounded, police said.

The investigation is ongoing and police did not say if anyone has been charged.

This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 11:45 AM.