U.S. rocked by 3 mass shootings during Easter weekend; 2 dead

HAMPTON, S.C. (AP) — Authorities in South Carolina are investigating a shooting at a nightclub early Sunday that wounded at least nine people. It was the second mass shooting in the state and the third in the nation during the Easter holiday weekend.

The shootings in South Carolina and one in Pittsburgh, in which two minors were killed early Sunday, also left at least 31 people wounded.

No one was reported killed in the violence at Cara’s Lounge in Hampton County, roughly 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Charleston, according to an email from South Carolina’s State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the shooting. A phone call to the nightclub was not answered.

In Pittsburgh, two male youths were killed and at least eight people wounded when shots were fired during a party at a short-term rental property. The “vast majority” of the hundreds of people at the party were underage, the city’s Police Chief Scott Schubert told reporters. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the two victims as Jaiden Brown and Mathew Steffy-Ross, both 17.

Investigators believe there were multiple shooters, and Schubert said police were processing evidence at as many as eight separate crime scenes spanning a few blocks around the rental home.

The two shootings come just a day after gunfire erupted at a busy mall in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Sunday’s nightclub shooting. Nine people were shot, and five people sustained other kinds of injuries while trying to flee the scene at the Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook said Saturday. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. None faced life-threatening injuries.

“We don’t believe this was random,” Holbrook said. “We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire.”

The only person arrested in the mall shooting so far is Jewayne M. Price, 22, one of three people initially detained by law enforcement as a person of interest. Price’s attorney, Todd Rutherford, told news outlets Sunday that his client fired a gun at the mall, but in self-defense. Rutherford said Price faces a charge of unlawfully carrying a pistol because he legally owned his gun but did not have a permit to carry a weapon.

Columbia police said on Twitter that a judge agreed Sunday to let Price leave jail on a $25,000 surety bond. He was to be on house arrest with an ankle monitor, police said.

“It was unprovoked by him. 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,” Rutherford said, according to WMBF-TV. “That is why he got a $25,000 bond.”

Police said the judge will allow Price to travel from home to work during certain hours each day. Price is forbidden from contacting the victims and anyone else involved in the shooting.

South Carolina residents age 21 or older can get a weapons permit, which as of last year allows them to carry weapons openly or concealed. They must have eight hours of gun training and pass a background check that includes fingerprinting.

The three Easter weekend mass shootings are in addition to other gun violence in recent days. Last week, a gunman opened fire in a New York subway car, wounding 10 people. A suspect was arrested the next day. Earlier this month, six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy downtown area just blocks from the state Capitol.

One week ago, a shooting inside a crowded nightclub in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, left a man and a woman dead and 10 people wounded. And last month, 10 people were shot at a spring break party in Dallas and several others were injured as they tried to escape the gunfire.

A look at some of the major shootings:

DALLAS, March 19

Ten people were shot at a teen spring break party in Dallas and several others were injured as they tried to escape the chaos. One of the injured, an 18-year-old man, later died of his injuries. The gunfire happened at The Space Dallas event venue. Joe Morgan, who was working crowd control, told reporters that he heard gunshots being fired from outside the venue and later saw people with gunshot wounds to the chest, arms and legs.

DUMAS, Arkansas, March 19

More than two dozen people were hurt and one man was killed when two people got into a gunfight during a car show that’s part of an annual community event. Innocent bystanders were sprayed by gunfire, among them several children, two of whom were under the age of 2, Arkansas State Police Col. Bill Bryant said.

DALLAS, April 3

One person was killed and 15 others were wounded by gunfire during a concert at an outdoor field. The victims ranged in age from 13 to 29, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said. One person fired a gun into the air, then an argument broke out and another person fired in the crowd’s direction, Garcia said. The event didn’t have a permit, he said.

SACRAMENTO, California, April 3

Six people were killed and 12 wounded outside bars located a few blocks from the state Capitol in a gunfight involving at least five shooters from rival gangs, Sacramento police said. More than 100 rapid-fire gunshots echoed through the streets as terrified patrons ran for their lives and others were hit by bullets. Police said they identified at least five gunmen, but there may have been more. Police said at least two gangs were involved.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, April 10

A shooting inside a crowded nightclub in Cedar Rapids left a man and a woman dead and 10 others wounded. More than 100 people were inside the Taboo Nightclub and Lounge at the time, police said. Officers helped treat the people who were wounded and used their squad cars to rush several of the victims to hospitals.

NEW YORK CITY, April 12

A gunman set off smoke bombs and opened fire in a crowded subway car in Brooklyn, wounding 10 commuters and leaving the train car and a subway platform splattered in blood. After a 30-hour manhunt, police arrested a suspect near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side after a tip led them there. Part of the evidence in the case includes YouTube videos in which the suspect rants about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina, April 16

A gunman opened fire at a busy shopping mall in South Carolina’s capital city, wounding nine people, police said. Five other people were injured while trying to flee the Columbiana Centre. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73, but none of their injuries was considered life-threatening, Columbia Police Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook said Saturday. Investigators believe those responsible knew each other, and that others were hurt when they began shooting at each other.

HAMPTON COUNTY, South Carolina, April 16

A shooting at a nightclub wounded at least nine people. The attack happened at Cara’s Lounge in Hampton County, according to South Carolina’s State Law Enforcement Division. Hampton County is located about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Charleston.

PITTSBURGH, April 17

Two teenage boys were killed and at least eight people were wounded when a shooting broke out during a party at a short-term rental property. Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said there was gunfire both inside and outside the rental home, “potentially back and forth.” Bullet casings found at the scene indicated handguns and one rifle were used, he said. Police believe there were multiple shooters.