This SC county trying to reduce surge in drive-by shootings, many of them done by teens. Here’s how

The gunshots came rapid fire last Monday evening when someone drove past a Spartanburg County home with four people inside.

No one was injured but deputies recovered 23 shell casings.

It was the 53rd drive-by shooting in the Upstate South Carolina county this year.

Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said at a press conference this week that since 2017, 485 reports have been made to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.

And many more go unreported.

Also, they are tough cases to investigate.

“From the sheer nature of this crime since it is often retaliatory, we get little to no cooperation from the victims, witnesses, and suspects involved,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

In 2022, there were 62 reports of someone firing into a dwelling and eight people were arrested, six of them between 14 and 17 years old.

The adults were 31 and 28 years old.

In the 53 shootings this year, two people suffered non-life threatening wounds.

Guns used were handguns and assault rifles, based on the rounds left behind, 715 in all.

Wright said it has happened that the people targeted no longer live in the house.

The department has launched a campaign to make the public aware that the guns used in drive-by shootings often come from unlocked vehicles. They asked the public to report anything they know. They can do so anonymously.

They also want parents to talk to their children about gun violence.

“If they suspect their child is involved in this type of activity, please report it before it’s too late,” the news release said.

Wright had a message for young people.

“This is not video games,” he said.

Video from the Monday shooting was released at the news conference as were two other shootings.

“This agency rarely releases video on active investigations, but to further illustrate how serious this problem is, we are going to show videos from three separate and unrelated drive-by shootings that occurred this year,” the sheriff said.

One was in April and two people were inside the residence. Seven shell casings were recovered.

The second incident shown occurred in November. Six people were inside. Sixteen shell casings were recovered.

Lt. Kevin Bobo, spokesman for the agency, declined to release more information such as the addresses and what time the shootings happened, saying the investigations were ongoing.