Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at Columbiana Center in the Harbison area, a busy shopping mall in South Carolina’s capital, on Saturday afternoon. Two more were injured in the stampede that followed the gunfire. The incident began around 2 p.m. Authorities said no fatalities have been reported but that eight of the victims were taken to the hospital, two being in critical condition. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. It is still unknown how many shots were fired at the mall.Three people who had firearms have been detained in connection. For the instant, they are treated as persons of interest and not suspects. Shoppers were evacuated. Police shutdown roads in the surrounding area. Authorities spent hours after the shooting checking the more than 100 stores in the mall. Heavy police presence continued in the area hours after the shooting.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division SWAT and regional agents were also helping police.The shooting remained under investigation. Police believe the shooting was not random. The three people detained knew each other and were involved in some sort of conflict. However no other details, including a motive, were revealed and no charges were yet announced. Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann said it was awful that people out shopping on the eve of Easter found themselves party to such a tragedy. A Fairfield Inn hotel on Columbiana Drive was established as a center to reconnect people with loved ones. Columbia police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call the department’s investigators at (803) 545-3525.
