Three arrests after 12 are hurt in shooting at South Carolina mall

Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a shopping mall in South Carolina’s capital.

Three people who had firearms have been detained in connection with the Saturday afternoon shooting at Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief WH Holbrook said.

He said at least one of those three people fired a weapon and that the force does not believe this was a random attack.

“We don’t believe this was random,” Holbrook said. “We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire.”

It's the second such incident in the US in the space of a week.

Authorities said no deaths have been reported but that eight of the victims were taken to the hospital.

Of those eight, two were in critical condition and six were in stable condition. The victims range in age from 15 to 73.

The mall was being evacuated store-by-store and police urged anyone still sheltering inside to call emergency services on 911 so that authorities could find them.

Workers from a couple of stores clustered in the mostly empty car park on Saturday evening said they had not heard or seen anything during the shooting.

They said they had been waiting for hours ever since they were evacuated for police to let them back inside to retrieve their car keys and personal belongings.

"Today’s isolated, senseless act of violence is extremely upsetting and our thoughts are with everyone impacted," Columbiana Centre said in a statement.

"We are grateful for the quick response and continued support of our security team and our partners in law enforcement."