Man shoots 2, then himself in Lancaster near Fort Mill and NC line
One person died and two others were wounded Friday night in a shooting in Lancaster County near the North Carolina state line with Charlotte, officials said.
A man with a gun shot two men then appears to have shot himself outside the Kushi World Bazaar store on S.C. 160 near U.S 521, said Barry Faile, Lancaster County Sheriff. The motive for the shootings remains unclear, Faile said.
“Although we have a good handle on what occurred, we don’t know why it occurred,” Faile said Friday night.
The man believed to be the gunman has not been identified by the Lancaster County Coroner or sheriff’s deputies.
Lancaster County Coroner Karla Knight-Deese confirmed there was a fatal shooting but said her office continues to investigate.
The injuries to the two other victims do not appear to be life-threatening, officials said.
The area is in the South Carolina panhandle of Lancaster near the North Carolina state line with the Ballantyne area of Charlotte, and east of Fort Mill in York County.
The first police officers arrived before 8 p.m. to find the two victims in the parking lot of a Lowe’s home improvement store across S.C. 160 from the shooting site, deputies said. The victims told deputies they ran across the highway to safety after being shot, according to officials.
One man had been shot in the face and the other was hit in the shoulder, said Doug Barfield, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
The victims told police they were at the bazaar store when they and others tried to help the shooter with a disabled vehicle, Barfield said. The shooter then opened fire, wounding the two victims, deputies said.
The gunman was found dead from a gunshot wound near his truck with the gun next to him, Barfield said.
The incident happened near a busy commercial area, said Lancaster County Emergency Management Director Darren Player. There are convenience stores adjacent to both the shooting site and the Lowe’s. Police, fire officials from Pleasant Valley and Indian Land stations, medical responders from Lancaster County EMS, and others responded.
The fatal shooting is the second in Lancaster County in 2021.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
