A shooting in South Carolina leaves 4 dead in a crowded bar

A mass shooting at a crowded bar in the southern US state of South Carolina killed four people and wounded at least 20 others, officials said.

Hundreds of people gathered at a popular bar on St. Helena Island in the early hours of Sunday morning when gunfire erupted, prompting several victims and witnesses to flee to nearby businesses for shelter, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Four people at the bar were pronounced dead and at least 20 others were injured, including four who were taken to local hospitals in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said.

She added that the incident remains under investigation, and the Sheriff’s Office is looking into possible suspects.

When police and paramedics arrived, they found several people with gunshot wounds, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

It’s not clear whether the shooting was random or targeted, and a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson declined to share further details.

The bar where the shooting occurred, Willy’s Bar and Grill, serves Gullah-inspired cuisine and says on its website that it aims to spread “the intimate spirit of Gullah Geechee culture.” The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of Africans who were enslaved on plantations along the southeastern coast of the United States, including South Carolina.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the devastating shooting in Beaufort County,” Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace wrote on X.

“Our prayers are with the victims, their families and everyone affected by this horrific act of violence.”

Wiley did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.