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ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) — A shooting incident at a residential complex on the South Carolina State University campus resulted in the deaths of two men and left another injured, leading to a lockdown that lasted nearly eight hours before being lifted early Friday.
The incident occurred Thursday night, marking the first major disturbance since two shootings during homecoming activities on October 4. During those earlier events, a 19-year-old woman lost her life in a shooting near the same residential area, while a man sustained injuries in a separate incident. In response to those events, university officials implemented enhanced safety protocols.
As of now, the identities of the deceased men have not been disclosed by university authorities, and the condition of the hospitalized individual remains uncertain.
According to a statement by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, one victim succumbed to his injuries at the scene, while the other passed away in the hospital. The investigation into the shooting is currently underway.
The Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office is responsible for releasing further details about the deceased individuals. Efforts to obtain comments from the coroner’s office have so far been unsuccessful.
The school put the campus in Orangeburg on lockdown at about 9:15 p.m. The shooting happened inside a room in the Hugine Suites housing complex, the division said.
The lockdown was lifted about 5 a.m. Friday, the university said.
Kaya Mack had just finished making a food delivery on campus when she heard gunshots and saw lots of police officers coming through a gate.
She said she wasn’t sure where the shots were coming from.
“Their loud sirens kind of shook me,” she told WLTX-TV. “We were looking around, me and other people on campus, we’re all looking around like ‘What’s going on?’”
Investigators were on site and law enforcement was patrolling the campus and areas nearby.
The university canceled Friday classes and was making counselors available to students.
Several people have been arrested on gun-related charges in connection with the October shootings.
After the October shootings, university President Alexander Conyers announced the addition of new fencing along the campus perimeter and additional security patrols to better control pedestrian access, according to a news release at the time. Crews were also set to repair damaged perimeter barriers.
Ahead of the university’s annual Youth & ROTC Day set on Nov. 1, the university announced safety and security measures, including a second layer of fencing along the perimeter between Hugine Suites and Goff Street and repairs underway along the shared boundary between South Carolina State and Claflin University.
The school founded in 1896 is South Carolina’s only public historically Black university, and has more than 2,900 current students, according to its website.
The university community recently marked the 58th anniversary of what has come to be called the Orangeburg Massacre. They remembered three young men killed Feb. 8, 1968, when officers opened fire on a crowd of Black students who had rallied on campus after demonstrating against segregation at a local bowling alley.