Law enforcement officers gather outside Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, South Carolina, following a shooting [Sean Rayford/AP Photo]

Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolina's capital that authorities do not believe was a random attack.

Authorities said no fatalities have been reported but that eight of the victims were taken to the hospital. Of those eight, two were in critical condition and six were in stable condition, Holbrook said. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73, he said.

Three people who had firearms have been detained in connection with the Saturday afternoon shooting at Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook said. He said at least one of those three people fired a weapon.

“We don't believe this was random,” Holbrook said. “We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire.”

The shooting is the latest in a rash of shootings at or near shopping centres across the country.

A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head Wednesday outside Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal Mall.

On Tuesday, a Southern California shoe store owner mistakenly shot a 9-year-old girl while firing at two shoplifters at the Mall of Victor Valley, police said.

And earlier this month, police said six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy area near the Downtown Commons shopping mall and the state Capitol.