South Carolina beach town mass shooting

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At least 11 people were hospitalized Sunday night in a shooting at a South Carolina beach town, police said.

The Horry County Police Department said in a statement that more victims are likely to have been taken to medical facilities in private vehicles after the gunfire in the community of Little River. Conditions of the injured were unavailable.

Police described the investigation as “active” and “ongoing.”

“Community members are advised to steer clear of the area as public safety personnel do their work,” police said.

A North Myrtle Beach police officer responding to the shooting was injured when his gun accidentally fired, Myrtle Beach police said in a separate statement. The officer, who suffered a leg wound, was stabilized at a hospital, the department said.

The shooting sometime before 10 p.m. was isolated to its original location near the Intracoastal Waterway, police said. "There is no risk to the community at this time," they said.

It wasn't clear what precipitated the violence or whether more than one shooter may have been involved.

A charter boat "altercation" erupted into gunfire Sunday in South Carolina, wounding at least 10 people and leaving another person with injuries, authorities said.

Horry County police said in a statement Monday that investigators were still working "to identify the person or persons responsible for the incident" in Little River, a beach town about 25 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach.

"Thus far, the investigation indicates that the shooting was an isolated event that resulted from an altercation during a private Memorial Day weekend gathering on a charter boat," police said. "The boat was docked at the time of the incident."

The most seriously wounded people were listed in "critical but stable condition," police said.

Passengers had just docked when shooting erupted on the marina, said Harold Wiegel, a partner of nearby business Myrtle Beach Adventures.

"When they got off the boat, they just started shooting each other," Wiegel told NBC News.

Wiegel, whose son lives near the marina and heard the shooting, identified the boat as the Hurricane, operated by Little River Fishing Fleet.

A North Myrtle Beach police officer was injured when his gun accidentally fired, Myrtle Beach police said in a separate statement.

The officer, who was wounded in a leg, was stabilized at a hospital, the police department said.