At least three people have been injured in connection with a shooting at Townville Elementary School in Anderson County, according to Medshore Ambulance Service. A teenager described as the shooter is in custody, according to law enforcement. One teacher was taken to AnMed Medical Center and two students were transported by helicopter to the pediatric center at Greenville Health System. The coroner said that two students had been shot and were being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
GHS confirmed it has received one patient and AnMed was told to expect up to two patients.
According to the coroner, a man was found dead on Osborne Road near the school and the death is possibly related to the shooting at the school.
Osborne Road is a gravel road surrounded by farmland. A sheriff’s deputy is blocking the road that leads to the house.
A press conference has been scheduled at the Emergency Operation Center in Anderson shortly.
EMS and LifeFlight responded to the scene along with units from multiple law enforcement agencies, and a LifeFlight helicopter with at least one patient aboard was seen leaving the scene.
The incident was first reported about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Oconee County Sheriff's Office. Witnesses on social media reported seeing dozens of emergency vehicles speeding up Highway 24 toward the school. Units from multiple law enforcement agencies responded, including the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Anderson City Police, and the sheriff's offices Anderson and Oconee counties.
The school has been closed and evacuated, according to scanner traffic. Students were taken to Oak Dale Baptist Church behind Townville Elementary. The line of parents in cars waiting to pick up their children stretched for more than a half-mile.
Parents were fighting back tears as they waited for their children to be released from school.
Michelle Bush was picking up her two children, a second grader and a third-grader, at Oak Dale Baptist Church. "I don't really know how you can explain why crazy people do crazy things," she said after talking with her daughter. "I'm just glad the teachers did the right thing to keep the kids safe."
Parent David Walton told a reporter he was relieved to see his daughter walk off the bus after the shooting.
Townville Elementary School is in Anderson County District 4. It has 286 students in pre-kindergarten through 6th grade, according to the state Department of Education. The school is at 105 Townville School Road, off Highway 24 near Lake Hartwell and the Georgia state line.
Damn, and in an elementry school 