The Richland County Sheriff’s Department said that a shooting early Saturday morning in a Columbia park hurt almost a dozen people, most of whom were teens.
The sheriff’s office said that detectives got a call at 1:20 a.m. on Saturday about a “large gathering of juveniles” at Meadowlake Park, off Wilson Boulevard. When deputies got there, most of the people had already left, the department said.
The department says that nine of the eleven people at the meeting were hurt by gunfire.
A statement from the force said that one person was hit by a car and that another had hurt their hand.
The police said there were dozens of shell pieces of different sizes all over the area.
A woman who wasn’t named in the statement was hurt in her lower body when she was hit by a car, according to the statement. Then, deputies said, they started getting calls about people who had been shot and were in nearby hospitals.
Students from different high schools in the area are thought to have been at the event. The victims are between the ages of 16 and 20, the department said.
The sheriff’s office says that two 18- and 19-year-olds were caught after they ran away from a traffic stop while leaving the scene.
A gun was found in the car, and police are now trying to figure out if it was used in the shooting.
“This is an active and ongoing investigation with a very large crime scene,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Investigators are still talking to victims and other people who were involved. When new information is available, it will be shared.”
The sheriff’s office said that the meeting was “not a park-sponsored event,” and the Richland County Recreation Commission is helping the investigation in every way possible.
Anyone who knows something should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or use the P3 Tips app.
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