Man in critical condition after being shot while protecting his wife; police name suspect

A man is in critical condition after he was shot Thursday evening at Laurel Village Mobile Home Park in Burton. Sheriff's deputies suspect a Beaufort man is the shooter.

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office was called about 6:30 p.m. to a report of shots fired and found a 49-year old man lying on the ground where his wife and several neighbors were rendering aid.

The man's wife told deputies that she had been sitting outside talking with some friends about 6 p.m. when a silver Dodge Caravan passed by her home at a high rate of speed. About 25 minutes later the van returned to the area, and she yelled to the driver to slow down as children were playing in the area.

The driver, later identified as 25-year old Devon Jamel Ward of Beaufort, got out of the van and confronted her.

Ward began hitting her in the head and knocked her to the ground. When her husband came to her aid, Ward pulled out a handgun and shot him.

Ward then drove away.

The gunshot victim was first taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, then transferred to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston where he remains in critical but stable condition.

Ward is wanted on charges of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, assault and battery with intent to kill, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.

Anyone with information about the possible whereabouts of Devon Jamel Ward is asked to contact either Investigator SSgt J. Hiers at 843-470-3439. Ward's last known address is 41 Franklin Drive in Beaufort.

Ward is a black man, approximately 6 feet tall, 210 pounds with short dreadlocks and multiple tattoos on both arms. Ward should be considered armed and dangerous.