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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Bullets have ripped into properties at the least 96 instances this yr within the county that encompasses South Carolina’s capital — most involving rival gangs — and the newest episode left an off-duty sheriff’s deputy and his fiancee wounded though they weren’t the meant targets, authorities stated Tuesday.

The drive-by capturing over the weekend at a suburban Columbia residence struck Cpl. Terrance Crawford and his fiancee within the legs, stated Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott at a information convention.

Lott stated Crawford works as a police officer at a faculty in Columbia and wasn’t focused within the capturing, with out offering particulars. The sheriff stated there have been eight folks within the residence Sunday evening.

“His marked police automobile was parked in entrance of the home,” Lott stated. “There isn’t any doubt they knew that was a Richland County deputy in that home.”

Investigators have recognized a number of individuals who might have been concerned within the capturing, he stated.

This was the 96th time in 2023 somebody has fired right into a residence in Richland County, which is residence to about 420,000 folks, Lott stated.

Many of the shootings concerned rival gangs, he stated.

“It is simply silly gang stuff,” the sheriff stated. “They sneak round like a bunch of little cowards through the darkness, after which sneak off like a snake at evening to attempt to get away.”

The Richland County Sheriff’s Workplace didn’t say Tuesday how many individuals have been killed or injured by shootings into properties this yr, and required a Freedom of Data Act request to launch these figures and different associated info.