Richland County coroner identifies men killed in separate shootings

The Richland County Coroner’s Office released the names of two men who were killed last week in unrelated shootings.

Leroy Nix III, 20, died in an area hospital following a Feb. 23 shooting in Columbia, according to the coroner’s office.

Two days later, the coroner’s office said that Shannon L. Brown was the 41-year-old Lexington man who died as EMS was taking him to an area hospital following a Feb. 25 shooting in Irmo.

James Thompson, 18, was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in Brown’s shooting, jail records show.

The teenager and Brown argued in the front yard of a home in the 100 block of Walnut Grove Circle, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. That’s near the intersection with Old Tamah Road and about a mile from Interstate 26.

Thompson allegedly shot Brown in the upper body and accidentally shot himself in his lower body, the sheriff’s department said.

The teen was treated for his injuries at an area hospital before he was taken into custody, according to the sheriff’s department. No bond has been set for Thompson, who remains behind bars at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, jail records show.

In the Columbia shooting, Nix was killed and another man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being hit by gunfire near Farrow Road in the 100 block of Cardamon Court. The incident remains under investigation by the Columbia Police Department.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.