One person is dead and five others are recovering from gunshot wounds after two separate shootings tore through Columbia within minutes of each other overnight, according to police. One shooting unfolded in the Food Lion parking lot on Harden Street in Five Points, near the University of South Carolina, while the other struck the 2800 block of School House Road near the intersection of Two Notch Road.
The Columbia Police Department said it received reports of the Five Points shooting a little before 10 p.m., with the School House Road shooting reported to police around the same time that night. According to the Post and Courier, the two shootings occurred within minutes of each other, per Columbia police spokesperson Melron Kelly. Three people were shot in the Food Lion lot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries; all three were transported to the hospital. At the School House Road scene, one person was killed and two others were injured.
Police have described the two incidents as unrelated. The investigation into both shootings remains ongoing, and police said they will share more details as they become available.
A Motive Still Unknown on School House Road
At the School House Road scene, one person was killed and two others were injured.
The Five Points shooting also happened on the same night as the University of South Carolina Gamecocks' season-opening home game at Williams-Brice Stadium.
A Police Force Already Under Strain
The overnight violence left police handling two active shooting scenes.
Another shooting occurred in Five Points at the Food Lion parking lot on Harden Street.
City Weighs Tighter Rules for Late-Night Bars
The Five Points shooting occurred in the Food Lion parking lot on Harden Street. The City of Columbia's Columbia Plan 2018 describes Five Points as an area with a variety of uses and some of the city's most active nighttime activity, partly because of its proximity to the University of South Carolina.
Three people were shot in the Food Lion parking lot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while two people were injured at the School House Road scene.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Columbia
In August, Hoodline reported that Richland County Sheriff's deputies arrested a 20-year-old man after finding modified firearms with Glock switches inside a residence while he was out on bond for a 2023 triple homicide. The report focused on that arrest rather than broader juvenile-arrest figures or sentencing details.
According to a City of Columbia comprehensive annual financial report, violent crime decreased 12.6% from 2010 through 2012, while aggravated assault decreased 23.5% during the same period.
For now, key questions remain open: whether ballistics or suspect descriptions will eventually link anyone to either scene, the identities of the victims, and whether the crush of football crowds affected how quickly first responders reached Five Points. Columbia police have said only that both investigations are active and that updates will follow as they become available.
