Four killed and 20 injured in mass shooting at bar in US

A mass shooting at a crowded bar in South Carolina has left four people dead and at least 20 injured.

Local officials said the incident occurred early on Sunday at Willie’s Bar and Grill on St Helena Island.

A large crowd was at the scene when emergency services arrived and found several people with gunshot wounds.

“Screaming and panic and fear,” bar owner Willie Turral said, describing the shooting. He was inside when he heard shots fired outside the bar. “These things went off in bursts.”

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on X: “Multiple victims and witnesses ran to the nearby businesses and properties seeking shelter from the gun shots.

“This is a tragic and difficult incident for everyone. We ask for your patience as we continue to investigate this incident. Our thoughts are with all of the victims and their loved ones.”

Four people were found dead at the scene and at least 20 other people were injured. Among the injured, four are in a critical condition at area hospitals.

The victims’ identities have not yet been released.

Mr Turral said the bar was packed for an event for alumni of Battery Creek High School in Beaufort, about 10 miles northwest of St Helena Island. He said people were having a good time when the shots were heard.

“It was scary from the inside,” he said, with “people not knowing what’s really going on outside, people trying to get to safety”.

St Helena Island is considered the largest Gullah community on the South Carolina coast. An estimated 5,000 or more people living there are descended from slaves who worked on rice plantations in the area.