1 killed, 2 injured at complex

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Police are searching for three men wanted in a violent attack at an apartment complex Thursday afternoon.

One man was shot to death, a woman was wounded by the gunfire, and a man was beaten at an apartment complex on Ben Sawyer Boulevard.

Oscar Manuel Giron-Hernandez, 33, of North Charleston died at the scene, Charleston County Deputy Coroner Dottie Lindsay said. An autopsy was planned for today.

Police responded to Marsh Grass Condominiums after receiving reports of shots fired at 12:22 p.m., said Capt. Stan Gragg, police public information officer.

When officers arrived, they found a woman in the street with a gunshot wound. She had run from the apartment building after the shooting. In the parking lot of the complex, they found a man with wounds to his head, Gragg said. He would not specify the nature of the wounds, but Gragg said the man had not been shot.

Inside one of the apartments in the green-and-white, two-story apartment building, officers found Giron-Hernandez dead, Gragg said.

Police immediately began searching the surrounding neighborhood for the killers. Schools located near the site of the shooting, including Christ Our King School, Moultrie Middle School, Mount Pleasant Academy, Whitesides Elementary and First Baptist of Mount Pleasant, were on administrative lock-down, as well as several day care centers. Police also notified neighbors of the incident through its Citywatch Reverse 911 program, Gragg said.

The female gunshot victim was taken by Charleston County EMS to Medical University Hospital. Gragg said she was in stable condition. The male assault victim was taken to East Cooper Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Mount Pleasant has not had a homicide since 2007, Gragg said.

Gragg would not release a motive for the shooting, but he said police had good leads on the suspects.

All three were described as black men in their early 20s. One was about 200 pounds. Another was described as short and stocky, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, 185 pounds. The third was described as tall, thin and lanky, with a thin face, a long neck and short-cropped hair. He is about 6 feet tall, 160 pounds.

Reach Andy Paras at aparas@postandcourier.com or 937-5589. Reach David W. MacDougall at macdougd@postandcourier.com or 937-5655.