Witnesses describe shooting at Hartsville bar that killed 2, injured 4

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - It was shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday when shots rang out inside Mac’s Lounge in Hartsville, sending bar patrons running for their lives.

The shooting killed Dicaprio Collins, 21, and Bryan Robinson, 29, and injured four others. People at the bar at the time told WIS it was chaos.

“It sounded like a firecracker and people freaked out, so I was like okay,” said Samuel Dupree, who was dancing on stage when he heard the gunfire. “I look to my right and I see gunfire coming out of the gun and it’s by the pool table by the patio door and I saw shots being fired, so I was like, this is real now.”

As people were running for the exit, Dupree said he came across a woman who was being trampled on the ground by the frantic crowd.

“People were trying to get through that tiny door and they couldn’t,” he said. “I helped someone up off the ground I saw get trampled. I’m not going to let this person just die from getting run over.”

Bar patrons spilled out into a nearby parking lot, Dupree said, with wallets and cellphones scattered across the ground. He and his friends ran down the street to a nearby business when they saw blue flashing lights headed their way.

“It’s totally surreal, I didn’t know I had blood on my shoes until I took my shoes off and they were covered in blood,” he said.

Parker Hayes was sitting at the bar when he heard the shots. He said at first, he wasn’t sure if what he was hearing was part of the music playing or something else. When he said he realized it was gunfire, he hid beneath the bar.

“If I started running, I’m still open,” Hayes said. “If I sit underneath the wood, it’s kind of hard to get shot.”

Hayes said he saw some kind of commotion by the bar’s back door that lead to the patio shortly before the shooting started.

“There was a fight around the back door and that might have escalated it -- but it didn’t seem random,” he said.

Officials confirm one of the victims was found on the outdoor patio, while another was found inside the bar.

The conditions of the four other people injured in the shooting have not been released.

Hartsville Police are leading the investigation into the shooting and have not said if they are actively searching for a suspect. However, the agency said SLED and the U.S. Marshals Office are assisting in the investigation.