ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Police are investigating following an overnight shooting at South Carolina State University in the early hours of Friday morning.
South Carolina State University campus police, the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety, and state troopers responded to reports of a shooting at Hugine Suites around 12:30 a.m. that left one student wounded.
“I just heard like five or six gunshots and I kinda ducked," said sophomore Symone Clayborne.
Clayborne was packing in her dorm at Hugine Suites when she heard screams.
“Just try to be safe, get down, I hope nobody’s hurt. Unfortunately, I think I heard that a couple people did end up getting injured, but I wasn’t really sure," said Clayborne.
Authorities say a male student was admitted to a local hospital for non life threatening injuries. The campus was placed on lockdown for less than one hour while police looked for the suspect.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think more policemen, I don’t think more security is going to really fix this problem. The problem I really believe is taking place is the indoctrination of our young people," said SC State senior Randall Washington, who also lives at Hugine Suites.
The lockdown was lifted at 1:25 a.m. after authorities determined there was no threat to the campus community.
“You can sneak guns and weaponry to here so until that’s solved, it doesn’t matter how much security we bring," said Washington.
He was awake at the time of the incident and recalls hearing commotion from his window.
“I can honestly say that this semester there has been less complications this semester than previous semesters so over time I guess it’s trying to get a little better or what not but the fact of the matter is, the problem is still here," he said.
University officials tell News 19 the student who was wounded has since been released from the hospital. SLED is doing an ongoing investigation.