Two shot dead at Memorial Day weekend party that attracted 1,000 people despite coronavirus lockdowns

Bystanders shot and partygoers trampled as crowds fled the scene

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Two people are dead and five injured after a South Carolina party with 1,000 estimated attendees ended in gunfire on Memorial Day weekend.

Union County Sheriff David Taylor told The Independent that deputies responded to the party in Jonesville on Saturday night due to noise complaints and hundreds of vehicles parked on public roads when the shooting began.

Curtis Lamont Bomar, 21, of Spartanburg, died at the scene while and Jabbrie Brandon, 17, of Union, died in hospital.

Witnesses estimated as many as 1,000 people at the party, hosted across three homes, despite the country's coronavirus lockdown guidelines.

The party was not broken up before the shooting began because it was held on private property and no laws had been broken, the Sherriff's office said.

South Carolina governor Henry McMaster implemented the statewide stay-at-home order on 7 April and began lifting them on 4 May as part of the country's phased reopening.

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At the time of the party on 23 May, restrictions had been lifted on restaurants, gyms, pools, boating, and attractions like zoos, museums and miniature golf.

According to the Union County Sheriff's office, deputies had been on-site for three hours towing away illegally parked cars when several minutes of gunfire began at the end-of-the-school-year celebration.

Witnesses said people began fleeing the scene, leading to more injuries as people became trampled in the chaos on Dover Road in Union County, about 80 miles north of Columbia.

"You had the people that were hit that had gunshot wounds. We were trying to get to them and get EMS in there to help them, so very chaotic," Union County Sheriff's Major Scott Coffer told local news.

Two people identified as Shaquille Obryant Barber, 26, of Jonesville, and Darnell Deandre Beacham, 35, of Buffalo, were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. The investigation is ongoing and other charges may be pending.