When police and first responders arrived, they found several people suffering from gunshot wounds, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
It’s not clear if the shooting was random or targeted, and a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office declined to share more details.
The bar where the shooting took place, Willie’s Bar and Grill, offers Gullah-inspired cuisine and says on its website that it aims to spread the “heartwarming spirit of the Gullah Geechee culture”. The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of Africans who were enslaved on plantations along the south-eastern US coast, including in South Carolina.
“COMPLETELY HEARTBROKEN to learn about the devastating shooting in Beaufort County,” South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace wrote on X.
“Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and everyone impacted by this horrific act of violence.”
Willie’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.