Students anxious after South Carolina sophomore killed near dorm

Coastal Carolina University resumed classes Wednesday after a sophomore was shot to death outside his dormitory building, officials said.

Anthony Darnell Liddell, 19, a sophomore from Bennettsville, S.C., died after the shooting around 7:20 p.m. Tuesday at a residence hall complex near the campus, school spokesman Doug Bell told the Los Angeles Times by telephone.

There was no immediate motive in the shooting, Tom Berry of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division told The Times.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Anthony Liddell,” school President David DeCenzo said in a prepared statement.

“Tragedies such as these anywhere in our society are senseless. Precious loss of life at such an early age affects us all. Our primary goal is to ensure the safety and security of our students. We will continue to do all that we can with all the resources necessary to make sure that our students are safe and secure. We only pray that an event like this never happens on our campus or any college campus again.”

Liddell was shot in the parking lot of the University Place residence complex, which houses about 2,000 students, and was pronounced dead at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, Berry said.

Some students are still anxious, and counselors and religious figures were on campus on Wednesday to help with the grief, Bell said.

The school has resumed classes but the faculty has been told to be lenient about attendance, he said.

Coastal Carolina University, in Conway, S.C., was founded in 1954 as a junior college and grew into an independent university in 1993. It has an enrollment of more than 9,000 students.

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michael.muskal@latimes.com