Gun violence erupted in South Carolina and Oklahoma during Juneteenth celebrations, killing two people and injuring at least 16, according to authorities.
Police in Anderson County, South Carolina, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, are looking into two separate shootings that happened on the night of June 21 as hundreds of people gathered for Juneteenth festivities. Juneteenth is a federal holiday observed annually on June 19 to commemorate the abolition of slavery in the United States following the Civil War.
A shooting near a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Anderson County killed one woman and injured nine others, according to a county sheriff’s office statement posted on social media. A large crowd had congregated in the area for the county’s sixth annual Juneteenth celebration.
Gunfire also erupted at the 2025 Tulsa Juneteenth Festival, according to the Tulsa Police Department. A 22-year-old man was killed in the shooting, while seven others were injured.
There have been no arrests in either of the shootings as of June 22, according to authorities. Both incidents are still under active investigation.
Police: An argument turned into a shooting in South Carolina.
In an update on June 22, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office stated that detectives were continuing an extensive investigation into the shooting and had “pinpointed persons of interest.”
According to the sheriff’s office, a large crowd gathered on Scarborough Road in Anderson County, near the Georgia border and approximately 36 miles southwest of Greenville, South Carolina. The crowd was present throughout the day on June 21, and “it remained a peaceful event to celebrate Juneteenth,” according to the sheriff’s office.
“However, as more people arrived, an argument broke out in the parking lot, and multiple shots were fired, sending people scrambling throughout the area,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on social media.
According to Greenville News, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, law enforcement responded to a report of multiple people being shot on Scarborough Road around 10 p.m. local time. More than 100 emergency personnel arrived to find a chaotic scene with hundreds of people fleeing, leaving shoes and debris in the roadway, according to the sheriff’s office.
According to the sheriff’s office, several people drove themselves to nearby hospitals, while one person was discovered dead at the scene “with debris and clothing scattered across the area.”
The victim was identified as Laporshia Janae Grey Cobb, 35, of Anderson, according to the Greenville News. She died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore has ruled the case a homicide.
The sheriff’s office reported that detectives were at the scene on June 22 to canvass and interview witnesses. The agency has asked the public to contact Anderson Area Crime Stoppers with any information about the incident.
The sheriff’s office stated that, while the shooting happened “outside within feet” of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the post has no connection to the Juneteenth event.
Tulsa police believe that at least two suspects were involved in the shooting.
Officers were working at the Tulsa Juneteenth Festival when they heard gunfire around 11 p.m. local time on June 21, according to the Tulsa Police Department. Police described the event as crowded, adding that “chaos erupted as people began running in multiple directions.”
The festival was held in the city’s Greenwood District, a historic freedom colony dubbed “Black Wall Street” before being destroyed in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The neighbourhood is now part of the Oklahoma State University-Tulsa campus, which is located just north of downtown Tulsa.
As officers attempted to regain control of the area, a 22-year-old man was struck and killed beneath a flyover, according to police. Seven other people, including a 17-year-old and an elderly woman, were injured by gunfire, police said.
