Sheriff's deputy, water utility workers shot in South Carolina, with the suspect still on the loose

• A police officer and two water system employees were shot in South Carolina Thursday.
• The shooting unfolded in the afternoon of the city of Spartanburg near Cleveland Park.
• A Spartanburg Water rep told WYFF that a man walked up to a crew working on a sewer main, asked them what they were doing and then opened fire.

A deputy and two water system employees were shot Thursday in Spartanburg, South Carolina, according to local reports.

Spartanburg Water System officials told WSPA-TV two workers were shot around 3 p.m. while making sewer line repairs in the Spartanburg area near Cleveland Park.

One deputy was also shot, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright told the news outlet.

The employees were taken to a nearby hospital, where their condition is unknown. Fox Carolina reported that the deputy was shot twice in the arm and is expected to recover.

The suspect is still on the loose, the outlet reporting that he was "held up in a home," with police outside.

It's not clear what prompted the shooting. Jennifer Candler, a spokeswoman for Spartanburg Water, told local NBC affiliate WYFF that a man walked up to a crew that had been repairing a sewer main, asked them what they were doing and then opened fire.

"I was having lunch on the table in there and then I heard gunshots," one witness told WSPA-TV. "Then the cops came flying down the street and then more cops came and then more cops came and they were trying to get in the house over there and I think they broke the door down. And they fired at least 50 shots, maybe more."

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.