COLUMBIA, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford formally apologized Saturday for state troopers gunning down three civil rights protesters shortly after a memorial on the 35th anniversary of what has become known as the Orangeburg massacre.

"We don't just regret what happened in Orangeburg 35 years ago, we apologize for it," Sanford said in a statement.

At a memorial two years ago, former Gov. Jim Hodges said the people of the state "deeply regret" the incident, but a spokesman said at the time it shouldn't be characterized as a formal apology.

Sanford's apology caught civil rights leaders by surprise.

"Well, I'm glad that we have someone that recognizes that this was a massacre, and it's long overdue," said James Gallman, president of the state's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"We seem to have a governor who is ready to step up to the plate and make amends for some of the atrocities of our previous leadership," Gallman said.

The incident started on Feb. 8, 1968, when protesters marched back to South Carolina State University's campus from an Orangeburg bowling alley where blacks were banned.

The men gathered near a bonfire when a platoon of white highway patrolmen opened fire. The shots killed 20-year-old Henry Smith and 19-year-old Samuel Hammond, both students at the university, and 17-year-old Delano Middleton, a local high school student.

Twenty-seven other students from South Carolina State, neighboring Claflin University and an area high school were injured.

Nine patrolman were indicted by a federal grand jury, and all were acquitted. Many of them said students fired first and threw bricks and at least one Molotov cocktail.

Students and protesters have denied that they were armed.

About 200 people attended a ceremony Saturday to honor the men.

Sanford wasn't at the ceremony, but said in his statement that his prayers and thoughts went out to the friends of family of the men killed 35 years ago.