2 dead, 9 injured in South Carolina shooting

Two people were killed and nine others injured in an early Saturday shooting at a night club in Lancaster, South Carolina, police said.

Shots were fired both inside and outside Old Skool Sports Bar & Grill at about 2:45 a.m.(0645 GMT), according to a press release by the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office.

Ten people were shot. Two of them, both adult males, are deceased, the release said.

Four injured were airlifted to medical facilities for treatment. Their conditions are unknown.

The remaining four are being treated for non-life threatening injuries at a local hospital. An 11th victim was treated and released for minor injuries during a fall while trying to flee.

The victims' identities have not been released.

Police also said that the club was occupied by a large number of people. Investigators do not yet know whether more than one person fired a weapon.

"This was a violent incident of huge magnitude that was witnessed by lots of people," Sheriff Barry Faile said. "The shooter or shooters are out there."

"We need to talk with everybody who was at the club when the shooting happened, and I encourage those witnesses to contact us immediately so those responsible for these deaths and injuries can be taken into custody," Faile said.

Patrol deputies, criminal investigators, and crime scene investigators are at the scene.

Investigators have interviewed witnesses. Leads have been developed concerning the identity of a shooter, but no one is in custody at this time.

Lancaster is about 100 kilometers north of Columbia, capital of South Carolina.

The shooting occurs as U.S. politicians are negotiating possible gun reform legislations following several mass shootings this year, in which dozens of people were killed.