Details emerge in shooting of Bluffton’s Blackshear

COLUMBIA — Incident reports filed with the Columbia Police Department reveal new details regarding the shooting of University of South Carolina football player Shameik Blackshear on Wednesday night.

Sources close to the incident confirmed the Bluffton High School product as the victim of the shooting and said he was shot in the upper and lower body outside one of the Club at Carolina Stadium apartment buildings.

One incident report that was filed said that when officers arrived at the apartment complex, located at 100 Catawba Circle and just behind the Founder’s Park baseball stadium, they were able to located a single handgun and two .40-caliber shell casings in front of one apartment building.

After speaking with witnesses in the area, two individuals told police that they heard two gunshots in rapid succession, the incident report said. They individuals said went outside of their apartment to check out what happened when they observed a male running toward a white truck.

The incident report said the truck then sped off without its lights on.

According to the Columbia police, who did not identify Blackshear by name, the victim of the shooting was in serious condition Thursday.

USC football officials are “optimistic” the freshman defensive end will recover fully. His future beyond that hasn’t been determined.

“He’s doing well,” Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said. “Right now we are just concerned with his health, but as far as I’ve been told, he’s doing well.”

Blackshear, once considered the heir apparent to Jadeveon Clowney, remains a member of South Carolina’s football team, athletic director Ray Tanner said.

“The focus right now is on his health and trying to make sure he’s OK,” Tanner said. “We are optimistic that he is going to be OK.”

Neither Tanner nor Muschamp had spoken to Blackshear as of midday Friday.

Blackshear, 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, signed with South Carolina in February. The four-star prospect had scholarship offers from Clemson, Georgia, LSU and North Carolina, among others. After recovering from a knee injury suffered in high school, he played briefly for the Gamecocks in 2015 but made little impact.

If anyone has information regarding the shooting they are urged to call Crimestoppers at 1 (888)-CRIME-SC.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Details emerge in shooting of Bluffton’s Blackshear."