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'There was Blood and She Gripped My Hand Tight but was Not Conscious,' Kentucky fan shot in Vista

The crime left eight people wounded, including Denise Massey of Kentucky. 

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - A University of Kentucky fan visiting from out of town was among those wounded in Saturday morning's shooting in Columbia's Vista.

The crime sent eight people to the hospital, including Denise Massey of Kentucky. She's currently in critical condition according to her boyfriend, Jimmy Brannon.

Brannon says the couple came into town for Saturday night's football game between South Carolina and Kentucky. As he puts it in Facebook posts chronicling what happened that evening, the two were having the "time of [their] lives" in the Vista Friday night into Saturday morning.

Previous Coverage: 8 People Shot in Columbia's Vista Following Nightclub Fight

As they were leaving the area to go to their hotel, he heard multiple what he called "pop pop pop" sounds. "Since I am a prankster, myself, I first thought some kids were busting pop bottles or the like," he wrote.

Denise was a couple of feet behind him, and he remembers people suddenly starting to scatter. As he ducked, he looked behind himself and saw that Denise had been hit by gunfire.

When he started checking her, he said there was a large amount of blood. He remembers her gripping his hand tightly, but she was not conscious.

Denise had been hit in the head by the bullet. Brannon says it struck her on the cheek, shattering some bone, and exiting the back of her neck, hitting a carotid artery.

Doctors told him she is lucky that the bullet didn't hit her spinal cord. He says the hope now is that she'll make a full recovery.

"I am staying with her at the hospital for the duration," he wrote. "The next 48 hours are critical they told me and Denise needs your prayers."

Brannon says University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides has reached out to the family, and was set to visit the hospital, and is offering whatever help he can.

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