Police said 12 people were injured, 10 of them with gunshot wounds, during a shooting at a mall in Columbia, South Carolina, and three were taken into custody.
Columbiana Police Chief William Holbrook said the shooting at the Columbiana Mall was not considered an indiscriminate act of violence but was the result of “a kind of conflict” between a group of gunmen who knew each other.
Details about the incident were few, but local media reported heavy police and emergency presence at the mall, located about ten miles north of downtown Columbia, the state capital.
No one was killed in the accident around 14:00 local time. But ten people were shot, and eight were taken to regional hospitals. Of those, two are in critical but stable condition, and six are in stable condition, Holbrook said at a briefing a few hours later.
He added that the age of the victims ranged from 73 to 15 years. Two more people were injured due to a “stampede” of people fleeing.
Holbrook said at least three people with firearms were found inside the mall. According to him, three people were detained in connection with the shooting.