Campus Alert Archive
SC State

Highway Patrol Fires on Black Students at SC State: Three Dead, 28 Wounded in Orangeburg Massacre

SCshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the night of February 8, 1968, South Carolina Highway Patrol troopers fired into a crowd of Black students on the campus of South Carolina State College who were protesting the segregation of a local bowling alley, killing three young men and wounding 28 others. The victims were Samuel Hammond Jr., 18; Henry Smith, 18; and Delano Middleton, 17, who was still in high school. The event, which predated Kent State by more than two years, received little national media coverage at the time.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
3
Injured
28
Institution
South Carolina State College
Hbcu · SC
~1,800 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTother
Approximate reconstruction171 chars
Students, get off the streets. Return to your dormitories immediately. There has been shooting on campus. Do not go near the front of the campus. Return to your rooms now.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

No organized campus alert system existed at SC State College in 1968; warnings spread through word of mouth, National Guard and police loudspeakers, and students physically running between dormitories
The shooting began at approximately 10:33 PM EST when patrolman David Shealy was struck in the face by a thrown banister rail, and a trooper fired a carbine that triggered a fusillade from multiple officers
The crowd of students had been protesting nightly since January 29, when six Black students were denied service at the All Star Bowling Lanes, the only bowling alley in Orangeburg
UPDATEother
Approximate reconstruction213 chars
South Carolina State College is under curfew by order of the state. All students must remain in their dormitories. The campus is surrounded by National Guard troops and law enforcement. Do not leave your building.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Governor Robert McNair placed SC State College under curfew and deployed additional National Guard and law enforcement immediately after the shooting
The three men killed were shot in the back or side, suggesting they were fleeing rather than advancing toward police, a finding consistent with witness statements from reporters and firemen present
Cleveland Sellers of SNCC was shot in the shoulder during the fusillade and was the only person arrested at the scene, later charged with rioting
Context

Background

The Orangeburg Massacre of February 8, 1968, is among the most consequential and least remembered acts of state violence against American college students in the twentieth century. Protests had escalated over ten days beginning January 29, when six Black students were refused service at the All Star Bowling Lanes in Orangeburg, the only bowling alley in the city, operated by Harry Floyd, who refused to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. On the night of the massacre, students built a bonfire near campus as law enforcement arrived. At approximately 10:33 PM EST, patrolman David Shealy was struck in the face by a thrown object. Seconds later, a carbine round fired by one officer triggered a fusillade: at least 28 people were shot, all in the front of their bodies except for those shot in the back as they fled. The three killed were Samuel Hammond Jr., 18, a freshman from Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Henry Smith, 18, a sophomore from Marion, South Carolina; and Delano Middleton, 17, an Orangeburg High School student who was on campus visiting his mother, a State College employee. Nine patrolmen were tried in federal court for violating civil rights and were acquitted by an all-white jury. The event received minimal national press coverage compared to the Kent State shootings two years later, which many civil rights historians attribute to the victims being Black students at an HBCU rather than white students at a predominantly white institution. Governor Jim Hodges issued a formal state apology in 2001. The massacre predated all modern campus emergency alert infrastructure by three decades.
Analysis

Key Findings

The Orangeburg Massacre on February 8, 1968, was the first mass shooting of student protesters by law enforcement in the United States, predating Kent State by more than two years
No campus alert infrastructure existed at SC State College in 1968; notification spread through word of mouth and law enforcement loudspeakers
All three victims were shot in the back or side, contradicting the police narrative that troopers fired in self-defense against an advancing crowd
Nine patrolmen tried in federal court were acquitted; Cleveland Sellers, the only person arrested at the scene, served seven months before receiving a pardon in 1993
The event received little national media coverage at the time, a disparity that civil rights scholars attribute to the race of the victims and the institution
Outcome
Nine patrolmen were indicted on federal civil rights charges but were acquitted. Cleveland Sellers, SNCC leader present at the scene, was convicted of rioting and served seven months before a 1993 pardon. South Carolina Governor John Bel Edwards offered a formal state apology in 2001.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Source
    Orangeburg Massacre - Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  2. Source
    Orangeburg Massacre - South Carolina Encyclopedia
    scencyclopedia.org
  3. News
    In 1968, Three Students Were Killed by Police. Today, Few Remember the Orangeburg Massacre - Smithsonian Magazine
    smithsonianmag.com
  4. Source
    Feb. 8, 1968: Orangeburg Massacre - Zinn Education Project
    zinnedproject.org
  5. News
    The Times and Democrat: Orangeburg 1968
    thetandd.com
Tags
shootingcivil-unresthbcucivil-rights-eranational-guardstate-violenceprotestpre-cleryno-alert-system1968historicalorangeburgsouth-carolina
Added June 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion