Columbia Police Chief William Holbrooke said the attack on the Columbiana Center was not believed to be an accidental act of violence, but rather stemmed from “some sort of clash” between a group of gunmen who knew each other. However, details about the shooting remained sketchy, he said. Local media reported heavy police and emergency personnel at the mall about 10 miles north of downtown Columbia, the state capital. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register No one was killed in the incident, which took place at around 2pm local time. But 10 people were shot and eight of them were taken to hospitals in the area. Of those, two were recorded in critical but steady state and six in steady state, Holbrooke told a news conference a few hours later. The victims of the shootings ranged in age from 73 to 15, he said. Two other people were injured in a “bathtub” of passers-by who were running for safety. At least three people were found carrying firearms inside the mall, and at least one of them actually fired a gun, Holbrooke said. Three people were arrested in connection with the shooting, he said. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles. Edited by Cynthia Osterman Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
