SANTEE – A Vance man is recovering from a gunshot wound after being shot early Thursday near a Santee night club.

Santee Police Capt. Anthony Staten said the shooting occurred in the middle of Highway 6 in front of the Bada Boom club.

“There was a guy who walked up in front of (the victim) and ‘pow, pow, pow, pow,’” Staten said. “The victim then went to the hospital” with at least one gunshot wound to his left side.

Staten said the victim has been identified as Darryl Fuller of Vance. He was taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.

Staten said the shooting occurred within sight of a police officer, who was investigating a separate incident.

“It suggests knowledge, an intimate knowledge of each other,” Staten said.

Staten said at around 1 a.m., a Santee officer was conducting an interview in a shoplifting investigation when gunshots were fired in the roadway. The officer heard four or five shots fired, Staten said.

Police say the victim was apparently sitting in a vehicle, which was in the median on Highway 6 in front of the club, when the shooter walked up and fired. Three .22 caliber casings were recovered, Staten said.

The shooter then fled from the area, he said.

“The guy had hid, and he had to have gotten into somebody’s car and gotten away,” Staten said.

Immediately after the shooting, Santee received assistance from surrounding agencies, including the Holly Hill and Eutawville police departments, the S.C. Highway Patrol and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, which brought in a K-9 unit.

Staten described the shooter as a 5-foot-5-inch black male with a slender build and brown complexion. He was wearing a red shirt and short pants, he said.

A red shirt was recovered near the scene of the shooting. Police say criminals fleeing a crime scene will often shed a layer of clothing in an effort to change their appearance.

A handgun was also recovered near the scene, but it is not believed to be the weapon used in Thursday morning’s assault.

Anyone with information about the shooting or the shooter is asked to call the Santee Police Department at 803-854-2152.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5516.

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