Man firing into the air causes panic on a South Carolina street and is wounded in a police shootout

By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say a man who fired shots into the air on a busy street near South Carolina’s capital has been wounded in a shootout with police. Investigators in Columbia say the gunman is a gang member on probation and can’t legally have the handgun he was firing. The suspect is expected to survive. Authorities say an officer also was hurt and they aren’t sure if he was grazed by a bullet or injured some other way. The shooting happened near a busy intersection about 2 miles from the South Carolina Statehouse. Hundreds of guests were evacuated from a nearby hotel and cancer patients at a clinic remained inside behind locked doors until police said it was safe.