Lockout at two Midlands schools was caused by accidental shooting, deputies say

Two Midlands schools went into lockout after a shooting was reported nearby, the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

One man was taken to an area hospital with what the sheriff’s office called non-life-threatening injuries, according to a news release.

The man was shot in the arm while in the 1500 block of Smyrna Road in Elgin, according to the release. That’s about 1.5 miles from the intersection with U.S. 1/Main Street.

At about 11 a.m, both Blaney Elementary and Stover Middle schools were on lockout status as a precaution, the sheriff’s office said. Both Kershaw County District schools are within a mile of the scene of the shooting.

The lockout was lifted at 11:42 a.m., Kershaw County School District spokeswoman Mary Anne Byrd told The State.

“The lockout was put in place out of an abundance of caution because of the search in the area,” Byrd said.

The search for a gunman was called off at about 1 p.m., when the sheriff’s office said the man accidentally shot himself.

Information if the man will face any criminal charges was not made available.