Campus lockdown lifted at SC State; SLED searching for tips in weekend shootings

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division is seeking witnesses to two shootings that occurred at an Orangeburg County university over the weekend.

Agents are currently searching for people who may have seen something during Saturday night’s shootings at South Carolina State University. These put the university in lockdown for the majority of the weekend, From the time of those shootings until Monday 6 a.m., when it was officially lifted.

Classes for Monday were canceled to allow students time and opportunity to access counselling services on campus. Faculty and staff have been instructed to work their regular schedules.

Those two shootings left one man seriously injured and left a woman, identified as Jaliyah Butler, 19, of Saluda, dead. Butler was a guest on campus and died at MUSC Health Orangeburg. The male victim was also a guest on campus and was flown to a hospital for treatment. His current condition is not known.

A third person, another male guest, was injured while running away from one of the shootings. Students, staff and lawmakers shared several statements and witness accounts regarding the shooting.

SLED agents say one Richland County man has been charged in their investigation of the shootings, which was requested by the South Carolina State University Department of Public Safety.

Matthew Daniel McCoy, 18, of Blythewood, is charged with pointing and presenting a firearm at a person and carrying a weapon on school property. It is unclear if he is believed to be responsible for any injuries reported in the shootings.

Warrants state that McCoy admitted to witnessing some sort of fight or argument between two groups of people. After seeing this, he is said to have gone to his vehicle and collected an unsecured and loaded Glock handgun from the passenger seat of his car and fired two shots at one other male. These documents do not state if those shots hit anyone or anything.

McCoy was arrested Sunday and booked into the Orangeburg County Detention Center. Court records indicate that he was last being held on a combined $87,000 bond. If his bond is posted, he is required to stay in the state, to not return to the university and he will be subject to GPS monitoring.

Investigators say they do not currently believe the shootings are connected. They are asking that witnesses come forward and share tips either by calling 866-472-8477 or by emailing tips@sled.sc.gov.

The University’s Department of Public Safety issued the campus lockdown after the first shooting near the Hugine Suites student residential complex.

Both shootings happened during the university’s annual Homecoming celebration, hours after the football game. In light of the shootings, several festivities, including the Homecoming concert that was scheduled for Saturday night, were canceled.

Now that the university is out of lockdown, it has implemented enhanced security protocols and practices, which include car checks and ID verification.

University President Alexander Conyers will be among those conducting a faculty-staff campus safety town hall at 11 a.m. Monday in the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium. The Student Government Association will hold their own safety event for students in the same auditorium at 3 p.m. Both meetings are closed to the public.

SC State’s Counseling and Self-Development Center will continue to provide student counseling services and expanded services through Tuesday.