LANCASTER, S.C. — Lancaster Police are investigating a shooting on Friday night on West Gay Street where kids were playing basketball.
The family of Grayson Kirk, 17, confirmed he was shot while playing outside. He is expected to recover.
“[Kids] were actually having a good time, and just that quick – that’s the tale of two worlds,” Antroyone Barnette, who owns the nearby Follicles Barbershop, recalled after hearing shots fired. “Like, what happened so fast?”
Barnette said he heard several gunshots. Police recovered multiple shell casings at the scene.
“On the Fourth of July, we like to light a whole row of fireworks,” Barnette shared. “That was symbolic to what it was [like]. It was rapid gunfire.”
Barnette said the shots sent everyone running in different directions.
He pulled several people to safety in his barbershop. Police said they are following leads but don’t have a suspect in custody. Also, they’re unsure of what the motive is in this case, calling it the “million-dollar question.”
Kirk’s family told WCNC Charlotte he attends Lancaster High School and is a great student and his basketball team recently made it to the all-state championship.
Barnette grew up in Lancaster and used to play basketball on the same court where the shooting happened.
“That’s a young man trying to grow up, wants to do something with his life, aspiring to be a basketball player,” Barnette said. “It’s [really] senseless to me.”
Barnette hopes this incident doesn’t deter kids from playing on this court.
“I’ve been their age, and I played basketball on this court when I was his age,” he said.
Lancaster’s Interim Police Chief Brian Smalls said Friday night there was another shooting less than a mile from West Gay Street where a person was grazed with a bullet. Police are still working to figure out if the two shootings are connected.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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