COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford formally apologized Saturday for state troopers gunning down three civil rights protesters in Orangeburg 35 years ago.

Sanford did not attend a memorial service for what has become known as the Orangeburg Massacre.

But afterward, he issued a statement apologizing for the troopers' actions.

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 was not a formal apology.

Sanford's apology caught civil rights leaders by surprise, including state National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President James Gallman.

Gallman said that the apology was long overdue.

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

A platoon of white highway patrolmen opened fire, killing three students and injuring 27 others from South Carolina State, neighboring Claflin University and an area high school.

The troopers said that the protesters were armed, but the students said that they were staging a peaceful protest.