The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department searched for and eventually found a suspected gunman Oct. 27 near Lawson Road, in the vicinity of Leesville and Pelion.

“One man was shot shortly before noon,” the department posted to social media a little after 1:30 p.m. “He has been taken to the hospital.”

The department later posted that it had located and detained the suspected shooter a little after 2:30 p.m.

“Operations in and around our active search area near Lawson Road have concluded,” the department posted. “The victim is expected to recover. Our work on the case continues.”

The department clarified that the shooting was unrelated to any Pelion school, though schools in the area went secure as a precaution.

“This afternoon, at the request of law enforcement due to a situation in the Pelion area, Forts Pond Elementary, Pelion Elementary, Pelion Middle and Pelion High were placed in secure (formally known as lockout) out of an abundance of caution,” Megan Moore, communications director for Lexington County School District 1 told the Chronicle, told the Chronicle, sharing messages sent to families explaining the situation. 

“During the secure/lockout, operations inside the building continued, and students continued to learn safely.”

This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.