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Ten people sustained gunshot wounds Saturday at a mall in Columbia, South Carolina, according to law enforcement.
An additional two people were injured in the “stampede” that followed as panicked shoppers rushed to safety, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said at a press conference. There were no fatalities.
The incident began around 2 p.m. near a Gap store, when multiple people brandished weapons and at least one fired off shots. Three persons of interest are in custody, Holbrook said.
The police chief said law enforcement does not believe the attack was “random” and it appeared the three people in custody knew each other.
The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. Two are in critical but stable condition, Holbrook said, while six others are in stable condition at area hospitals.
A “hodgepodge of law enforcement” responded to the mall after emergency responders started receiving reports of a mass shooting, Holbrook said.
The scene was still under active investigation as of 5 p.m. as law enforcement worked to clear the entire mall, escorting people still sheltering inside to safety.
The Columbiana mall had been hosting photos with an Easter bunny for families on Saturday, the last day before the holiday.
Multiple people told the Charlotte News and Observer, a local newspaper, that they heard sounds they thought were raindrops hitting the roof until realizing it was gunfire. Some retail workers responded by swiftly locking up their stores and escaping through emergency exits with shoppers.
