One dead, another hurt in latest shooting in Columbia this week, police say
A fatal shooting was reported in Columbia on Saturday, continuing a disturbing, weeklong trend of gun violence in South Carolina’s capital city.
One male was killed in the shooting that injured another, the Columbia Police Department said.
The Richland County Coroner’s Office is expected to publicly identify the shooting victim after notifying his family.
The other male who was hurt is not believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries, police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons told The State. Further information on his condition, was not made available.
The shooting happened outside the Colony Apartments in the 6600 block of Bailey Street, according to police. That’s near Prisma Health Richland hospital, by the intersection of Farrow Road and West Beltline Boulevard.
At about 6 p.m. officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert at the apartment complex, police said. ShotSpotter is a technology that uses acoustic monitors to detect a sound like gunfire. The system sends the gunfire’s location to the Columbia Police Department within 45 seconds.
There is no word on a shooter, or shooters, or a motive for the gunfire. No arrests have been reported by police.
After interviewing people at the scene investigators do not believe the shooting was random, Timmons said.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.
It was a violent week in Columbia, with at least four males killed and more people injured in multiple shootings.
On Monday, two teenagers were killed in a shooting.
Desmond Williams, 15, of Eastover, and Reginald Nixon Jr., 17, of Columbia, were outside a Lower Richland apartment complex Monday night when at least one gunman fatally shot them, the Richland County Coroner’s Office said.
On Tuesday, the body of a male was found at the Capri Apartments at 4425 East Chapel Drive, the Columbia Police Department said. That’s near Beltline Boulevard, in the area between intersections with Rosewood Drive and Devine Street.
Police said that shooting was self-defense as Reaqwon Garrick, 23, was determined to be an armed aggressor who had a gun when he fought with a male resident of the apartment. The victim’s brother saw the assault, pushed his brother out of way for safety and fatally shot Garrick, according to police.
On Wednesday, a man driving a car was shot by a gunman in another vehicle, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said. He drove to an area hospital where he reported the shooting.
Further information on his condition was not made available.
Columbia police have responded to six shooting deaths so far this year and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department has already investigated 11 shooting homicides, one more than all of last year, Sheriff Leon Lott said at a news conference Thursday to address the increase in gun violence.
