Police arrest suspect in SC shopping mall shooting that injured 14 people
The police have arrested a man in connection with a scene at the busy shopping mall Columbia, South Carolina injured 14 people and sent panicky Easter weekend shoppers fleeing for safety.
WH Sheriff “Skip” Holbrook said 22-year-old Jewayne M. Price, who was initially detained by law enforcement as a person of interest along with two other men, is being held in custody. in Saturday’s shooting.
Price will accused of carrying a pistol illegally and could face other charges, according to a police release. He will be at home at the Lexington County Detention Center, according to a tweet from the police department. The two other men who were initially arrested have been released from police custody.
Fourteen people were injured in the shooting and subsequent “stomped on” at the Columbiana Mall on Saturday afternoon, and ranged in age from 15 to 73, police said. Nine victims were treated for gunshot wounds and five suffered “other injuries” while trying to flee the scene, including broken bones, lacerations and a head wound.
Only one victim, a 73-year-old woman, remained at the hospital for treatment until Saturday night.
Police believe three individuals displayed their guns inside the mall, and initial ballistic evidence indicated at least two different guns were used by the two suspects, officials said. Police said at least one gun was seized.
Police said the shooting was not random but “an isolated incident between the suspects and likely stemming from an ongoing conflict.”
Columbiana . Shopping Center Code of Conduct ban “firearms or illegal weapons” on the basis, according to its website. While South Carolina Enables concealed firearms with a training course allowed under new legislation last August, private or public employers can still ban people from carrying their property, according to the law.
Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former chairman of the Democratic Party of South Carolina, share my sympathies with the injured on Twitter Saturday night.
“These tragedies are getting closer and closer to home,” Harrison wrote. “I’m sure some Columbia families just went shopping on Easter weekend and now their lives have been changed forever. The nation must find the courage, strength and leadership to stop it. #GunViolence.”
Contribution: Associated Press