SUMTER, S.C. — Four people are recovering after they were injured at a Sumter bar and restaurant shooting on Sunday.
The Sumter Police Department (PD) says that all four people are expected to be alright after the incident at Backyard Bar and Grill on Rast Street.
According to the department, these people are suffering from various injuries, but not all of them were shot.
“It’s sad that it happened and somebody's child got hurt or somebody's children or kid's got hurt,” one Sumter resident shared.
The woman did not want to do an on-camera interview, but shared her thoughts on the incident, which happened right next to the Sumter Mall, where she was shopping on Monday.
The day before, police say shots were fired at Backyard around 6 p.m. The bar’s owner, Philip Boyd, declined an camera interview, but did say the incident happened as people were leaving the bar after brunch. He says the business had closed and people were in the parking lot when shots rang out.
A person who was at the bar reached out through social media.
They say that people had gathered to see a rapper at the bar. They say there was a fight that started inside and then as people started to leave, shots were fired.
In a message on social media, the person wrote, “When I went to my vehicle, I saw someone lying on the ground. People were checking to see if the person was alive or deceased, the situation was horrible.”
Sumter resident David Witherspoon drove by the bar to check out the damage on Monday after hearing about what had happened.
“I was surprised because I knew they had a lot of security,” Witherspoon shared.
Witherspoon works as a personal trainer at the mall, and says having an incident like this in his community highlights the need for more positivity.
“Let’s not allow you know, just one bad apple to ruin Sumter’s Miracle City. We’re still creating miracles and continue on creating miracles,” Witherspoon said. “It was just a tragedy that should not have happened, but just being prepared to really know that we've got a long journey ahead of us, but we got enough soldiers hearing in Sumter that we can continue striving for a positive outlook.”
“Hold your head up,” the woman said. “Pray up. Love one another. Be there for one another, not hurt and kill one another because you’ve got life. You’re losing your life at an early age and you're too young to lose your life to violence out here in this world.”
Sumter PD says officers are still investigating. The department is asking anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC or P3tips.com.
The department says it’s asking the public for information about what you may have seen or heard, like descriptions of people or vehicles.
As for Backyard, the restaurant’s owner says it was closed Monday to let staff discuss actions moving forward and recoup after the chaos on Sunday.