3-year-old shot to death during custody exchange at Beaufort apartment; 2 others injured
A custody exchange ended in fatal gunfire at a Beaufort apartment complex Sunday afternoon, killing a 3-year-old and injuring two others. Beaufort police are searching for 27-year-old Jonathan Tyleke Fair for questioning related to the shooting, according to the department’s Facebook page.
Shots were fired just after 12:30 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of Cross Creek Apartments, located off Parris Island Gateway northeast of the Walmart in Beaufort. First responders found a 26-year-old woman with “serious injuries” in the parking lot and loaded her in an ambulance to the hospital.
Beaufort police arrived at the hospital to hear of two more gunshot victims: a 25-year-old male with non-fatal injuries and a fatally injured 3-year-old. The child, Ariana Fair, was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m. at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, according to Beaufort County Coroner David Ott. An autopsy is being conducted Monday morning.
Both surviving gunshot victims had been released from the hospital as of Monday morning, said Deputy Chief Stefenie Price, a spokesperson for the Beaufort Police Department. Investigators do not yet know how many shots were fired during the incident.
Sunday’s incident marks the second fatal shooting at the Cross Creek Apartments this year. On Easter Sunday, Daveion Reed, a 21-year-old Beaufort resident, died from a gunshot wound he received during another shooting at the complex. Beaufort police charged 19-year-old Yemassee man Lavent Altobby Frazier in connection with the murder about three months later.
Anyone with information about Sunday’s shooting is encouraged to call Beaufort Police Department’s Investigator Andersen at 843-322-7941 or the anonymous tip line at 843-322-7938, referencing case no. 23B40635.
This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 11:43 AM.
