Columbia - Authorities on Monday announced the arrest of a second man, Marquise Love Robinson, 20, in connection with Saturday’s shootout inside a shopping mall in South Carolina’s capital. A third suspect, Amari Sincere-Jamal Smith, is also sought in one of two mass shootings that rocked the state over the Easter holiday weekend.

Both arrested men face charges of attempted murder and nine counts of aggravated assault and battery.

Police said they did not believe the shooting was a random attack and that the three identified suspects knew each other.

The first arrested suspect’s attorney said that his client fired a gun at the mall, but in self-defense.

Authorities have asked the public for help locating Smith, 21, of Columbia, who is also facing a charge of unlawfully carrying a pistol.

Three mass shootings in the U.S. over the Easter holiday weekend, two in South Carolina and one in Pennsylvania, capped a monthlong spate of gun violence across the nation.
-AP