South Carolina beach mass shooting injures 6 on local high schools' senior skip day

Claire Thornton, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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After high school students converged on a South Carolina beach Friday afternoon, six people were shot when fighting and gunfire broke out, authorities said.

Two people have been arrested, but it's unclear at this time if they were involved in the shooting, which occurred about 5: 20 p.m., the Isle of Palms police chief Kevin Cornett said Saturday.

Students from multiple local high schools had been participating in a senior 'skip' day celebration, the Isle of Palms police department confirmed with USA TODAY.

The victims included people ages 15 and 16, Cornett said, and one woman in her 30s who was not part of the beach celebrations Friday.

Police confiscated two pistols from the suspects, Cornett said.

One suspect, age 16, was arrested for possessing a stolen firearm, and an 18-year-old was arrested for possessing a firearm in a municipal parking lot, police said.

All victims were transported to the Medical University of South Carolina with non-life threatening injuries, ABC 4 News reported.

Cornett said Saturday all victims were in stable condition and some had been released from the hospital.

Cornett said it's heartbreaking to see young people engage in gun violence with each other and risk one another's lives.

"It is devastating to me that we have a community anywhere where children are injured, where children are involved in violence," Cornett said during a press conference Saturday, reported Columbia, South Carolina, TV station WIS News 10. "It's not okay whether you're a juvenile, it's not okay whether you're an adult. It's concerning, it breaks my heart," he said.

The city of Isle of Palms is located on a barrier island about 15 miles east of Charleston, South Carolina.

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County sheriff decries another mass shooting

Speaking at a Saturday press conference, Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano decried the mass shooting.

"Here we are, once again talking to the public about a mass shooting in the Charleston area. This is simply unacceptable," she said.

She commended law enforcement agencies for doing their jobs to mitigate the danger.

But unfortunately, she said, law enforcement can do their jobs so well "because we've had a lot of practice doing it."

"There's absolutely no reason anybody should be carrying a gun to the beach," she added.

Authorities continue to investigate the shooting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina beach shooting on Isle of Palms injures six