South Carolina bar mass shooting leaves multiple dead with 20 injured and four fighting for life

A mass shooting at a crowded bar on an idyllic South Carolina island has left four people dead and at least 20 injured, officials say.

The shooting occurred at Willie's Bar and Grill on St. Helena Island in the early hours of Sunday, according to local authorities. A large crowd was at the scene when sheriff's deputies arrived and found several people suffering from gunshot wounds.

"Multiple victims and witnesses ran to the nearby businesses and properties seeking shelter from the gun shots," the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on the social media platform X. "This is a tragic and difficult incident for everyone. We ask for your patience as we continue to investigate this incident. Our thoughts are with all of the victims and their loved ones."

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Four people were found dead at the scene, and at least 20 other people were injured. Among the injured, four were in critical condition at area hospitals. The victims' identities were not released.

"COMPLETELY HEARTBROKEN to learn about the devastating shooting in Beaufort County," US Rep. Nancy Mace posted on X. "Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and everyone impacted by this horrific act of violence."

The South Carolina incident happened after high school homecoming celebrations in Mississippi ended in gunfire, with two separate shootings on opposite sides of the state on Friday night that left at least eight people dead and many more injured, authorities said. Six were killed in downtown Leland after a high school football homecoming game in the Mississippi Delta region on the state's western edge, according to the county coroner.

Four people were killed and two died later at a hospital, according to a statement from Washington County Coroner La’Quesha Watkins. Some 20 people were injured in the gunfire after people gathered in the downtown area following the game, state Sen. Derrick Simmons said.

Of those, four were in critical condition and were flown from a hospital in nearby Greenville to a larger medical centre in the state capital, Jackson, Simmons told The Associated Press. He was being updated on developments from law enforcement authorities in the Delta.

"People were just congregating and having a good time in the downtown of Leland," Simmons said of the town with a population of fewer than 4,000 people. He was told that after the gunfire, the scene was "very chaotic," as police, sheriff's deputies and ambulances "responded from all over."

"It's just senseless gun violence," he said. "What we are experiencing now is just a proliferation of guns just being in circulation."

Meanwhile, police in the small Mississippi town of Heidelberg in the eastern part of the state are investigating a shooting during that community’s homecoming weekend that left two people dead. Both of them were killed on the school campus Friday night, Heidelberg Police Chief Cornell White said. He declined to say whether the victims were students or provide other information about the crimes.

"Right now we've still got a subject at large, but I can't give specifics," White said Saturday morning. A pregnant woman was among the dead, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is helping local and federal law enforcement agencies in investigating, the governor said.

"Our state is praying for the victims and their families, as well as the entire Heidelberg and Leland communities," Reeves said in a social media post. "Those responsible will be brought to justice."