Two boys, both just 17 years old, were killed at a party in Pittsborough.
Over Easter weekend, three mass shootings in South Carolina and Pittsburgh left two minors dead and dozens of people injured. Another shooting in Portland left one person dead, and three injured. Here’s what we know so far.
The South Carolina mall shooting
On Saturday, gunfire erupted at a busy mall in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia. Nine people were shot and five people were injured while trying to flee the scene. According to NBC, victims ranged in age from 15 to 73, and their injuries included broken bones and a head injury.
Jewayne Price, 22, has been arrested in connection with the incident and will be charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol. Two other men who were detained after the shooting have since been released.
Per Huffpost, police said the 73-year-old victim is still receiving medical treatment, but the other victims have either been released from local hospitals, or will be soon.
“We don’t believe this was random,” Columbia Police Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook said. “We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire.”
A judge set a $25,000 bond for Jewayne Price in a court hearing on Sunday, adding that he must remain under house arrest and wear an ankle monitor. “The judge will allow Price to travel from home to work certain times of the day,” the Columbia Police Department tweeted.
At least three suspects showed guns in the mall, but it’s not clear whether all of them fired. Police reportedly seized one firearm, and police are working to determine exactly how many weapons were used. “It is believed that the shooting was an isolated incident between the suspects and likely stemmed from an on-going conflict,” police told the press in a release.
According to WIS, counsel for the Price J. Todd Rutherford says that his client opened fire in self-defense after two people connected to Facebook threats against him started shooting first.
“It was unprovoked by him,” Rutherford reportedly said. “He called the police, turned himself in, turned over the firearm that was used in this, and gave a statement to the Columbia Police Department. That is why he got a $25,000 bond.”
Police are asking witnesses to call 803-545-3525 to share any information about or video of the shooting.
The Pittsburgh shooting
Two teens were killed and several other people were injured in a shooting that occurred at around 12:30 a.m. Sunday at a party attended by around 200 people. Eight other people were shot and five others were injured while fleeing the scene, Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said. Most of the party’s attendees were underage.
Several people were still running away from gunfire in the city’s East Allegheny neighborhood when police arrived. About 90 rounds were fired at the Airbnb property rented for the party.
It’s still unclear what provoked the shooting, though police say there appears to have been some sort of altercation. At least eight separate crime scenes are being examined for evidence according to CNN, and investigators are searching for multiple suspects.
The city’s news release says: “As many as 50 rounds were fired inside, prompting some party-goers to jump out the windows, sustaining injuries such as broken bones and lacerations. Several more shots were fired outside the home.”
“You had people who were fleeing, just trying to get out of there,” Schubert said. “Here we are at Easter, and we have multiple families, two that won’t see a loved one.”
Local schools have implemented a “modified lockdown” in response to the incident. “So many Pittsburgh families were impacted by today’s tragedy,” Interim Superintendent Wayne N. Walters said in a statement, explaining: “A modified lockdown means that only people with scheduled appointments are permitted in or out of our buildings.”
The person who rented the Airbnb property where the shooting occurred has now been banned from the service for life, the company told CNN.
The South Carolina club shooting
A mass shooting at an Easter party in Furman, South Carolina, on Sunday morning left at least nine people injured. WTOC-TV reported that there were people inside and outside the venue, Cara’s Lounge, when the shooting started. Some apparently jumped into nearby ditches to avoid the fire.
“SLED agents are leading an investigation into a shooting at Cara’s Lounge in Hampton County this morning where at least nine people were shot,” South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said in a news release. “At this time there are no fatalities.”
“It was scary. We were just trying to get to safety,” party attendee Jasasi Williams told WTOC. “We didn’t know where the shots were coming from. So we just ran to try to get to safety and then we fell, and we were just trying to get to safety because everyone was running and screaming.”
No information was immediately available about the severity of the victims’ injuries.
The Portland shooting
According to a statement released by the Portland Police Bureau, a deadly shooting in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday night left one person dead, and three minors injured.
“When officers arrived they located a male who was deceased and three juvenile males who had also been shot,” the statement reads. “The three surviving victims were transported to area hospitals; one with life-threatening injuries and the other two with non-life-threatening injuries.”
As of 7:30 a.m. ET Monday morning, very little is known about this incident. The police have appealed for anyone with information to contact Detective Michael Greenlee at Michael.Greenlee@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0871 or Detective Brad Clifton at Brad.Clifton@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0696.
A worrying trend
There have been more than 130 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Last week, a gunman opened fire in a subway car arriving at a Brooklyn station, injuring 10 at least people. Earlier this month, six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs.
Early on April 10, a shooting inside a crowded nightclub in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, left a man and a woman dead and 10 people wounded. And in March, 10 people were shot and several others were injured as they tried to escape gunfire at a spring break party in Dallas.
