February 8, 1968 near the campus of South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, law enforcement personnel opened fire on a crowd of unarmed African Americans, killing three and injuring twenty-eight more.
Weeks of unrest centered on a the All-Star Bowling Lane, a whites-only bowling alley, where a number of student protests took place. On Thursday, February 8, 1968, police set up a command post near the college campus. At 7pm, fifty State College students gathered to start a bonfire, but police intervened. At 9:30p, more students had joined the protest and a second attempt at building a bonfire was successful.
Police called the fire department to put out the fire. When the fire truck arrived, the crowd began moving back toward Lowman Hall, throwing rocks and bottles. A patrolman David Shealy was injured when a banister post struck him in the mouth. The other patrolmen thought he had been shot.
A few minutes later, nine policemen opened fire on the retreating students, hitting thirty-one people, although the shooting lasted less than ten seconds. Samuel Hammond was shot in the back. Delano Middleton was shot seven times, three to his arm, one to each hip, thigh, and heart. Henry Smith was shot five times from both times.
None of the students were armed, but the law enforcement insisted they fired in self-defense.
All the nine policemen who fired on the students were prosecuted and none were convicted.
The only person arrested, convicted, and sent to prison was Cleveland Sellers, who was charged with inciting a riot, and spent about seven months in jail.
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