Ridgeland man charged in accidental shooting that killed his 15-year-old brother, police say
A Ridgeland man wanted on manslaughter charges after an accidental shooting that killed his 15-year-old brother was arrested Saturday in Bamburg County, according to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.
Kylen Pinckney, 28, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, breaking into a motor vehicle and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, jail records show.
On Oct. 16, police were called out at 6:45 p.m. to a home on Lady Banks Drive in Ridgeland about an accidental shooting, according to Chief Deputy Jeff Crosby with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office. Earlier, Pinckney allegedly broke into a car down the street from his family’s home and stole a weapon.
The brothers had been out hunting deer before the accidental shooting. While they were outside, Pinckney allegedly picked up the gun and was pointing it “at people,” Crosby said. He was told to stop and, while he was putting it down, it went off and hit his 15-year-old brother, Tavarus Pinckney.
Tavarus Tavarus was taken to Memorial Health University Medical Center and died around 8:45 p.m., according to previous reporting from the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
Police are still investigating to determine the caliber weapon Tavarus was shot with, Crosby said.
Kylen Pinckney was arrested at his grandmother’s Bamburg County home Saturday, according to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.
A defense attorney for Pinckney had not been assigned and he was in custody at the detention center in Jasper County as of Monday.
A ‘great soul’
A cousin who spoke at a funeral service for the boy on Saturday admitted he was having trouble trying to “hold it together” as he shared anecdotes to remember the “mischievous child.” The family member tearfully shared a story about a time Tavarus wrote and performed a song for his Bible school’s young adult choir.
“He got mad at me because I wasn’t going to let him sing the song,” he said. “I let him sing it and Tavarus had a very, very good voice.”
In online tributes, a classmate wrote that he would always remember the time he and Tavarus had spent together and that he was a “great soul.”
