The boy, whose name has not been released, shot his 47-year-old father, wounding him fatally, then drove off in a pickup truck to Townsville Elementary School some 3.2km away where he crashed into a fence surrounding the playground, police say.
Volunteer firefighter Jamie Brock was able to subdue the suspect after the boy started shooting, as the school staff led the children to safety inside the school premises, Anderson County Emergency Services Director Taylor Jones said at a press briefing.
Police arrived within seven minutes after being alerted by a 911 call by a teacher, who took him into custody. Chief Deputy Keith Smith said the shooter never entered the building.
Authorities have currently been unable to pinpoint the motivation behind the shooting but ruled out race as both the shooter and victims were white.
US schools have put in place more security precautions after a gunman shot and killed 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut back in 2012.
“He was there in the hot scene and risked his life to mitigate this incident.” Jones said about Brock, who has been hailed on social media as a hero and credited with preventing another school massacre.
“He just used enough force to take him to the ground,” Jones added.
One of the victims, 6-year-old Jacob Hall who police say was shot in the leg, remained in critical condition, Greenville Health System spokeswoman Sandy Dees said.
The other boy and a female teacher were treated and released, said Ross Norton, a spokesman for AnMed Health Medical Centre. The boy, who local media reported was six years old, was shot in the foot and the teacher in the shoulder, authorities said.Suspect called grandmotherAnderson County Sheriff's Office Captain Garland Major told reporters he was unclear about the relationship between the shooter and his victims at the school.
Authorities said the home-schooled suspect called his grandmother who went to his home and found the boy's father had been shot.
"She could not make out what he was saying because he was crying and upset and so they went to the house ... and that’s when she discovered her son and called 911," coroner Greg Shore told a news conference on Wednesday night.
Immediately after the shooting, armed officers guarded the students as they were taken to safety by a bus to a nearby church, local media said. Television images showed police swarming the school, with some on the roof, and others moving around the premises.
Jamie Meredith, whose daughter is in kindergarten at Townville Elementary, told WYFF news that she panicked after getting word of the shooting. Her daughter is fine but described a scene of scared and crying children.
“I’m just scared,” Meredith said through tears as she was interviewed by WYFF. “I don’t even want her to go to school now.”
The incident was the latest in a series of US school shootings that have fueled the debate about access to guns in America.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is due to meet with law enforcement officials in the area this evening, Jones said.
Friday, June 05, 2026
