York cops broke up party of 300-plus people. Then shots fired; 1 hurt, SWAT called.
A man was shot not far from police officers in York who had responded Sunday to break up a party of more than 300 people, officials said.
There were so many people near the party when shots were fired that York Police Department officers called in SWAT and officers from as far away as Clover and Rock Hill, said Andy Robinson, York police chief.
Officers were called to the Valley neighborhood off Hickory Lane and Valley Road on the city’s southern edge Sunday morning after midnight, said Det. Thomas Dunham of the York Police Department. Officers found roads illegally blocked by parked cars so they asked the house party host and DJ to stop the music and revelry as officers cleared and opened the roads for traffic, Dunham said.
The party host complied with the police request, Dunham said.
As officers were working to open blocked roads, officers heard a nearby gunshot, according a police incident report. A man who was trying to leave the area was shot in the leg, according to Dunham and the incident report. The man fell to the ground near officers, police said.
Patrol officers attended to the victim as other police worked to secure the scene, Dunham said.
More gunshots were heard and officers requested assistance from other agencies to handle the crowd as the shooting was investigated, Dunham said. Officers from the York County SWAT team, York County Sheriff’s Office, Rock Hill Police Department, Clover Police Department, and S.C. Highway Patrol responded, Dunham said.
A woman suffered a broken ankle as she attempted to flee the area during the stampede of people rushing away from the scene after shots were fired, Dunham said.
No other people were hit by gunfire and no arrests have been made in the shooting, Dunham said. The shooting victim, 24, from Rock Hill, was treated and released at Piedmont Medical Center, Dunham said.
Officials in York County and the City of York have encouraged the public to follow social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic even though Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted for private gatherings, Dunham said. The party was not against any law but officials still want residents to follow safety guidance concerning the coronavirus, Dunham said.
More than 340 people were tested for coronavirus Friday in York at a free testing site. Testing continues this Friday. York County has had 340 positive cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, South Carolina officials said.
“We certainly would ask people to follow the safety precautions for social distancing when gathering together,” Dunham said. “There were a lot of people there.”
