CHARLESTON, S.C. — Ten people were injured, and three law enforcement officials were hurt when gunfire erupted at a Memorial Day gathering in Charleston, South Carolina, according to police.
Police said gunfire erupted late Monday night when an officer was responding to a noise complaint about a loud party at a vacant lot. Someone shot twice into an arriving police car, authorities said.
“Let me tell you something. As we stand here right now, we’re lucky we don’t have a dead cop or dead citizens or dead community members,” Charleston Police Chief Luther T. Reynolds told reporters during a news conference.
Charleston news outlets showed surveillance video of people scrambling for cover as sporadic gunfire is heard. Reynolds told news outlets more than 100 evidence placards were placed at the scene, with many of those marking where shell casings were found.
Reynolds said four people were critically hurt. He said the officer was not shot but injured by shrapnel from the glass and two deputies from the sheriff’s department were injured as they tried to control the crowd.
Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said the incident meets the definition of a “mass shooting” which is when four or more people are injured or killed.
“Thankfully, we’re counting our blessings that no one in this incident was killed,” Tecklenburg told reporters. He referenced the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and a racist attack at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, as he called for action to combat gun violence.
He said there have been 230 mass shootings in America so far this year, according to one database.
“Think about that, y’all. Every 16 hours in America there’s a mass shooting. I don’t know about you, but I’m angry about it. I’m mad about it. I’m fed up. I concur with many of our citizens here, and across the country, that enough is enough,” he said.
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