South Carolina nightclub shooting leaves 2 dead, 8 hurt

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Two people are dead and eight are injured after a predawn Sunday shooting at Lavish Lounge, a bar and nightclub in Greenville County, South Carolina.

A Greenville County Sheriff's Office deputy driving in the area just before 2 a.m. local time noticed a "disturbance" at the nightclub and called for emergency backup because of active gunfire inside the building, according to Lt. Jimmy Bolt.

County deputies, officers from the Greenville Police Department and troopers from the state Highway Patrol responded and found multiple gunshot victims inside. Some had already been taken away from the club in personal vehicles, Bolt said.

Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans Jr. identified the dead as 23-year-old Mykala Bell of Greenville and 51-year-old Clarence Sterling Johnson of Duncan.

The people who are hurt have a range of injuries, some minor and some critical. All of the injured are being treated at Prisma Health Upstate's Greenville Memorial Hospital, investigators said.

Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said at a Sunday press conference that the shootings are "probably gang related." He said there is a search for at least two suspects, including some who are "known gang members." No descriptions of them have been made public.

Club was in violation of coronavirus emergency orders, sheriff's office says

Rapper Foogiano posted on social media late Saturday night that he was going to perform at Lavish Lounge.

"Greenville y'all ready!?" reads a post from his Instagram account that was still visible Sunday morning.

Sheriff Lewis said Sunday that after watching surveillance footage from the incident, investigators believe people involved with the club's performing artist were involved in the shooting but that the performer himself was not part of the violence.

Lewis said investigators are still working to determine what happened in the moments before the shooting began. "We're hearing about five different stories," he said.

Lewis said the investigation indicates there were about 200 people inside the club at the time of the shooting — more than the maximum capacity allowed in the business during emergency restrictions that are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Henry McMaster has ordered nightclubs shut down, and Lewis said the Sheriff's Office is working to confirm that the club did not have a special exemption to the order.

Lewis said he would work with the State Law Enforcement Division and the state Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation on the possibility of getting the club's license revoked.

Woman says her son was one of the shooting victims

One of the onlookers near the club Sunday, Margaret Spurgeon, said she'd just come from the hospital where her son was admitted after being grazed by a bullet in the shooting.

Spurgeon said her son works there. She said the club is a place people come to gather and hang out.

"It's not a troubled spot," Spurgeon said.

But Lewis told The Greenville News of the USA TODAY Network that Lavish Lounge has a history of crime and a large volume of calls for service. The Greenville News is seeking information and documents related to previous times officers have responded to the club.

"There have been shootings here before, some fights here before and that kind of thing," Lewis said.

'We're talking about 10 people shot in one place, within minutes'

More than seven hours after the shooting, investigators and forensics units were still at the club collecting and cataloging evidence, including multiple shell casings and attendees personal belongings that were scattered throughout the venue.

Lewis said there is "a large amount of blood" inside the club and "a lot of spent rounds" of ammunition.

"There's a lot to be collected in there, for sure," he said. "Anytime you see this amount of violence, it's not typical at all. I mean, we're talking about 10 people shot in one place, within minutes. There's nothing typical about this at all."

Greenville resident Markeese Brand said he works part-time at Lavish Lounge as security but was not there Saturday night.

"It's shocking, but at the same time we got the coronavirus, people are not working... they want to get out of the house," Brand said. "So you've got innocent people who want to step out to the club and enjoy themselves, and then this happens... in the blink of an eye."

Mike Riley, who has lived in a home near Lavish Lounge for the past 18 months, said he was awakened early Sunday by the sound of gunfire.

​"I was in bed, and all of the sudden you hear pop, pop, pop, pow," said Riley. He said he heard four or five gunshots.

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Gunfire at neighboring club the day before

The day before the shooting at Lavish Lounge, there was a separate shooting Saturday at nearby Dolce. A security guard was injured in the shooting at Dulce, and that case remains under investigation.

A sign outside Dolce describes the business as a as a bistro, hookah bar and lounge. It sits on the other side of Fuji Steak & Seafood, which is next to Lavish Lounge.

Bolt said investigators are interviewing witnesses and will look for connections between the two weekend shootings.

Follow reporter Zoe Nicholson on Twitter: @zoenicholson_

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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina nightclub shooting: 2 dead, 8 injured, authorities say