No injuries, 3 arrests in Jasper County ‘retaliation shooting’ before graduation parade
Three Jasper County teens were arrested Wednesday night after a drive-by shooting in Ridgeland along the parade route of the class of 2020 graduation celebration, according to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.
Arrests included the alleged shooter, who is a 15-year-old male, a 17-year-old male and 19-year-old woman who were in the suspect vehicle at the time of the incident.
This shooting “was in retaliation” to a shooting that occurred last week on the same stretch of Grahamville Road near the I-95 interchange, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Det. Sgt. Jake Higgins said. The 17-year-old suspect involved in Wednesday’s shooting was in the truck that was shot at May 20, Higgins said.
No one was injured in either incidents.
Wednesday’s shooting
As the parade was about to begin, a deputy working traffic detail along the route heard shots being fired nearby.
Additional deputies responded to the scene and saw a vehicle leaving the area at a high rate of speed, Higgins said.
More shots rang out in a wooded area as the deputies searched for the 17-year-old and 19-year-old suspects, who were allegedly inside the vehicle. A short time later, deputies located both at a residence and arrested them.
Meanwhile, witnesses at the scene of the shooting said they were sitting along the parade route waiting to cheer on a graduate when a 15-year-old male leaned out of a vehicle driving by and shot at them multiple times, Higgins said. Witnesses told deputies the name of the alleged shooter, Higgins said.
He said as deputies were driving to the 15-year-old’s residence, his mother called police and told officers her son had a gun. He was later arrested at the home.
The shooting happened in front of a house that has a history of “problems between two groups of people,” Higgins said.
The arrests
The 15-year-old — whose name is not being released because he is a minor — faces four counts of attempted murder, four counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and four counts of point and presenting a weapon.
The 17-year-old was arrested on a weapon charge and multiple assault charges after he tried to fight deputies as he was being arrested, police said.
The 19-year-old also faces an assault and battery charge in the incident. The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette do not typically name those charged with misdemeanors unless they are in a position of public authority or trust.
Both males were transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Columbia. The female suspect was transported to the Jasper County Detention Center, where she remained incarcerated as of Thursday morning.
Higgins said the quick arrests were the result of deputies working around the clock and of the community helping investigators .
This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 12:28 PM.
