COLUMBIA, S.C. - A man who gunned down three people in a Department of Social Services office in 1996 was executed by lethal injection Friday.

David Mark Hill, pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m. in the state’s death chamber in Columbia, was the first person put to death in South Carolina since the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in April the constitutionality of the three-drug lethal injection cocktail used in dozens of states.

Hill went on the shooting spree in North Augusta after his wife asked for a divorce and a social worker accused him of molesting a child. He lost custody of his children and blamed state workers. Killed were case worker Jimmy Riddle, 52; Josie Curry, 35; and Michael Gregory, 30.

The state Supreme Court ruled earlier this year the 48-year-old, who was on death row for eight years, could drop his appeals and be executed.

Hill’s lawyer, David Miller, read a statement from Hill that said he was sorry for the killings and hoped his victims’ relatives would find peace.

“Hopefully, my decision to have this sentence carried out without delay will help you understand the sincerity of my apology and will provide you with some closure. To those of you who have expressed forgiveness to me, I thank you. For those of you who have been unable or unwilling to forgive me, I pray that today will provide you with the peace you deserve,” said Miller, reading from the statement.

Unlike other states, South Carolina did not put other executions on hold while the court considered the case. Hill was the 279th person put to death in South Carolina.

Hill, strapped to a gurney and clad in a dark green prison uniform, briefly turned his head toward the witnesses assembled then trained his eyes on the ceiling of the brick-walled chamber.

When the attorney finished speaking, a tube that ran from Hill’s outstretched left arm to the wall behind his head began to move and liquid could be seen flowing through it. Two minutes later, Hill’s breathing became labored and he then took one large gasp, his chest heaving upward.

Hill’s mouth then dropped open and, within a minute, color drained from his face. Eleven minutes later, Hill was pronounced dead.

Relatives of the victims sat in the front row of the viewing area outside the death chamber and showed no visible reaction to the execution. They declined to comment.

A handful of death penalty protesters held a vigil outside the prison where the death chamber is housed.

For his last meal, Hill was served meat loaf, corn on the cob, garlic bread, a beef burrito, a Mexican pizza, a taco, cake, ice cream, garden salad with tomatoes ranch dressing and Pepsi, according to the Department of Corrections.

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