South Carolina's lame Republican governor, Henry McMaster, was too chickenshit to take any real action against the pandemic-- and the state is in the throes of a catastrophic spike right now. On Saturday there were 1,854 new cases, bringing the state total to 43,386-- 8,427 cases per million South Carolinians, worse than any country in Europe including Sweden (7,071), Spain (6,366), Russia (4,668) and Italy (3,996). So far 813 South Carolinians have died but the huge uptick in cases since Memorial Day indicates deaths will rise percipitouslyly all summer and into the autumn, probably peaking as South Carolina voters much to the polls, probably masked by then-- but who knows?-- to vote for Trump.And the county doing worst is in the heart of Trump country-- Greenville County-- with 5,696 confirmed cases (and 86 deaths). The death count does not include the two rap fans who died early Sunday morning at the Lavish Lounge on White Horse Road. People who trekked out to Emerald Point on Lake Austin in Texas that night to see '90s revival band, Color Me Badd, were disappointed that the show was cancelled at the last minute, but a Foogiano gig at the Lavish Lounge went on as scheduled. Ten people were shot around 2 AM.How crazy, desperate or just plain stupid do you have to be to go to a crowded bar, illicitly opened on a 4th of July night, to get soused and hear a buzzing, publicity-mad rapper? For at least two, possibly 3, people that will be the last terrible decision they ever make.Local law enforcement reflexively blamed "gangs," but there's no evidence that suggests that, at least not yet. In fact, the county sheriff, Hobart Lewis, watched surveillance footage and concluded that members of Foogiano's crew "were involved in the shooting, but that the performer himself was not part of the violence."Mike Winslow of All Hip Hop News reported Sunday morning that "Foogiano, who recently signed a million-dollar-deal with Gucci Mane's 1017 Records, was performing at the holiday-themed concert at Lavish Lounge around 2 a.m. Local cops patrolling the area noticed an unusually large crowd in the area, which is supposed to be locked down over coronavirus restrictions. The cops noticed the patrons were fleeing the venue as they pulled in, and were immediately encountered with a frantic situation. According to witnesses, gunmen open fire inside of the venue in the middle of the crowd."
Sources stated there someone in the crowd may have attempted to rob Foogiano.Investigators are looking to see if Lavish was even supposed to be open, or if it was operating illegally since Govoner Henry McMasters ordered all the local bars and clubs to close down again over the pandemic.Meanwhile, over on Instagram friends of one of the reported victims have been dragging Foogiano, claiming his entourage sparked the gunfire during the botched robbery attempt.
There were claims that someone tried stealing his chain and that his crew started shooting-- "the only ones shooting"-- although it's too early to know how fact-based any of that is. What it isn't too early to know for sure is that Henry McMaster has been as terrible confronting the pandemic in South Carolina as Trump as been nationally-- and that the two of them are pawns of the NRA and should be forced to wear gun violence statistics around their necks.
