Sheriff: 2 dead, 8 hurt in S.C. shooting

GREENVILLE, S.C. — A shooting at a nightclub early Sunday left two people dead and eight wounded in South Carolina, a sheriff ’s official said.

Two Greenville County sheriff ’s deputies noticed a disturbance at Lavish Lounge just before 2 a.m. and saw a large crowd running out of the building, Sheriff Hobart Lewis said at a news conference. There was “gunfire from inside the building,” Lt. Jimmy Bolt said in an initial statement, and Lewis said all the shots were fired inside.

Lewis and Bolt initially said 12 people had been wounded — with at least four in critical condition, Lewis said — but Bolt told the Associated Press two victims were likely counted twice in the confusion at the hospital.

No one was immediately taken into custody. Bolt said the sheriff ’s office was looking for two suspects but couldn’t provide names or descriptions.

“We don’t really have a person of interest that we can name,” Lewis said, later adding that authorities weren’t sure what led to the gunfire.

Lewis said a “very large crowd” was at the nightclub for “some type of concert.” A post on Lavish Lounge’s Facebook page advertised a July Fourth performance by trap rapper Foogiano. An Instagram direct message from the AP wasn’t immediately returned, but a booking representative told the AP via text message that Foogiano was fine and his team was safe.

Coronavirus cases in South Carolina have risen swiftly, and the state’s rate of positive tests is three times the recommended level. In late June, the upstate city of Greenville — which has experienced some of the state’s highest COVID-19 rates — became the first city to mandate face coverings in South Carolina, where Gov. Henry McMaster has refused to implement a statewide mask requirement.

McMaster reminded South Carolinians last week that he hadn’t lifted restrictions on large crowds, and that those operating nightclubs illegally or holding concerts against his orders don’t have to be caught in the act to face criminal charges but instead could be charged weeks later if COVID-19 cases are traced back.

Under restrictions imposed by McMaster in March to restrict the spread of the coronavirus, gatherings of 50 or more people in a single room are off-limits. Authorities told the Greenville News that investigators determined about 200 were inside the club at the time of the shooting, more than the maximum capacity allowed in the business under the governor’s emergency order.