11 hurt, 9 by gunfire at teen party at South Carolina park

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Eleven people were hurt, including nine by gunfire, at a late night party at a South Carolina park, authorities said Saturday.

Richland County deputies were called to Meadowlake Park near Columbia around 1:20 a.m. Saturday, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

Officers found only a few people at the scene, including a woman suffering leg injuries not from gunfire, but not long after hospitals started reporting several gunshot victims arriving in emergency rooms, deputies said.

Dozens of shell casings from several different weapons have been collected at the park.

Nine of the injured were shot. They are between the ages of 16 and 20. Deputies did not detail the severity of their injuries.

A number of teenagers from several high schools gathered at the park for the afterhours party that was not sponsored by the local recreation commission, deputies said.

Officers arrested two teenagers in a vehicle driving away from the scene with its headlights off and found a gun, but aren’t sure if it was used in the shooting, investigators said.