Shooting at crowded South Carolina bar leaves four dead
Four people were killed and at least 20 others were injured in a mass shooting at a crowded bar in the southern US state of South Carolina, authorities said.
According to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s office, hundreds of people had gathered at the popular bar on St. Helena Island early Sunday morning; This caused many victims and witnesses to run to nearby businesses for shelter.
The sheriff’s office said four people were pronounced dead at the bar and at least 20 others were injured, including four who were sent to local hospitals in critical condition.
It was stated that the incident is still under investigation and the sheriff’s office is investigating possible suspects.
In a statement made by the sheriff’s office, it was stated that when police and first responders arrived at the scene, they found that many people had gunshot wounds.
It’s unclear whether the attack was random or targeted, and a spokesman for the sheriff’s office declined to share further details.
Robert Adams, who lives down the street from the bar, told local broadcaster Island Packet that he heard automatic gunfire that sounded “like a machine gun.”
A cook working at the bar told the outlet he “heard multiple gunshots.”
Willie’s Bar and Grill, the bar where the shooting took place, serves Gullah-inspired cuisine and aims to spread the “heartwarming spirit of the Gullah Geechee culture,” its website says. The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of Africans who were enslaved on plantations along the southeastern coast of the United States, including South Carolina.
Willie’s did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
“I was COMPLETELY HEARTBREAKED when I learned of the devastating shooting in Beaufort County,” South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace wrote to X.
“Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected by this horrific act of violence.”
Congressman James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, wrote to X that he was “devastated” by the “senseless tragedy.”
In 2022, there was another shooting at the same location, then at the Island Grill, in which two people suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, according to Island Packet.
Earlier this month, one person was killed and another was injured in two separate shootings at South Carolina State University, about 100 miles (160 km) north of St. Helena Island.
