At least 60-70 rounds'fired in South Carolina drive-by gang-related mass shooting at graduation party leaving 1 dead and seven injured

It was a second mass shooting in the United States that targeted graduating students

By Edward Era Barbacens

At least one person died and seven others were wounded following a drive-by shooting at a high school graduation party in Summerton, South Carolina, according to the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office. 

"There were at least 60-70 rounds fired at this incident," Sheriff Tim Baxley said in a news release. "This appears to be a gang related incident stemming from previous drive-by shootings in other parts of the county." 

The rounds were fired after two cars approached the lawn party where about 150 people were gathered on Saturday evening, according to the sheriff's office.

Minors were among the seven who were shot and injured, including a 12-year-old, 14-year-old, two 15-year-olds and a 17-year-old. The two adults who were shot at including a 32-year-old and a 36-year-old woman. The woman died from her injuries Sunday morning.

The shots fired from the two moving vehicles did not appear to target anyone in specific and officers were unclear whether all the rounds came from shots returning fire from people at the graduation party.   

The drive-by shooting comes on a weekend when mass shootings have rocked the country, including one in Philadelphia – where three were killed and 11 wounded, and one in Chattanooga – where three were dead and 14 wounded. There have been 246 mass shootings in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.