Three men shot in local nightclub, fourth injured by drivers fleeing the scene

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By HEATHER WALTERS

One person died and two others were critically-injured from a shooting that occurred inside a Colleton County nightclub last weekend. The shooting occurred at about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 24th at the VIP Ultra Lounge Nightclub, located on Robertson Boulevard near Walterboro.

Hakeem Rutledge, 24, died at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston from injuries sustained in the Colleton shooting, according to Richard Harvey, Colleton County coroner. A fourth person was also injured in the scene when he was struck by vehicles whose drivers were fleeing the scene. This person declined medical treatment, according to Colleton County Fire-Rescue Chief Barry McRoy.

Colleton County Fire-Rescue and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene and discovered three men who were all shot. One man died: the two others were in critical, but stable condition, according to information provided by the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office.

Medics … “arrived to find a critically-injured man who was shot three times, one wound was to the neck,” said McRoy. “The patient was in severe distress and advanced airway maneuvers were necessary to secure his airway,” he said. The patient was flown via CARE Flight Helicopter to the Trauma Center at Trident Medical Center in North Charleston. The second shooting victim was shot six times. He was also transported to Trident Medical Center. Both men were given whole blood by firefighter-paramedics, said McRoy.

The third shooting victim was found in a car that had crashed into a ditch along Robertson Boulevard. The man told authorities that he had been shot at the club and then fled the scene. “He was in critical condition,” said McRoy. “Firefighter-Paramedics worked to stabilize the man and control his bleeding.” As of press deadline, no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing by the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 843-549-2211.