Two women were fatally shot and a South Carolina man is charged with murder, cops say
Two women were shot and killed and now a 22-year-old man has been charged with murder, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said.
In addition to two counts of murder, Tyquaveon Isaiah Hartzog was also charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime, SLED said in a news release.
The shooting happened July 22 at an Exxon gas station/convenience store at 5009 Allendale-Fairfax Highway, according to the release. That’s in Allendale, between the campus of the University of South Carolina-Salkehatchie and Allendale-Fairfax High School.
Allendale County Coroner Renique Riley said that 25-year-old Parris Lee and 34-year-old Herrinda D. Murdaugh were the shooting victims, WRDW reported.
Lee was found partially inside a vehicle and died at the scene, while Murdaugh was discovered next to the vehicle and was taken to an area hospital where she died, according to arrest warrants.
No other injuries were reported.
Surveillance footage shows Hartzog with a gun in his hand as he got out of a Chevrolet Equinox parked at the gas station, arrest warrants show. Murdaugh is also seen in the surveillance footage, falling to the ground next to the Chevy with a gunshot wound, according to arrest warrants.
When Lee was found, she also had been shot, the arrest warrants said.
On July 23, Hartzog turned himself in to the Allendale Police Department, and brought the pistol that was used in the homicide, according to the arrest warrants.
Hartzog told investigators that the shooting was in self defense, the arrest warrants said. Information about why Hartzog said he was defending himself was not available.
A witness said Hartzog was in the backseat of the Chevy “with the victims at the time of the shooting,” according to the arrest warrants.
There was no word on a motive for the shootings, or a connection between Hartzog and the victims prior to the gunfire.
Hartzog was booked at the Allendale Detention Center, SLED said.
No bond was set, according to Allendale County court records.
In addition to SLED and Allendale police, the shooting was investigated by the Fairfax Police Department as well as the Allendale County Sheriff’s Office.
The case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, according to SLED.
Funeral services for Lee will be held on Aug. 5 at First Thankful Baptist Church in Estill, and her burial will follow in the church cemetery, according to her obituary shared by M.F. Riley’s Funeral Home.
No memorial plans for Murdaugh have been announced, but are expected to be released by B. F. Cave Funeral Home, according to her obituary.
