Category: South Carolina

3 Students Shot in Drive-By Shooting Outside High School

COLUMBIA, S.C.—A South Carolina high school will remain closed the rest of this week after three students leaving school for the day were hurt Wednesday in a drive-by shooting just off campus. The three Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School students did not suffer life-threatening injuries, the Orangeburg County School District said in a statement. A person is…


South Carolina Attorney General Says School Mask Ordinance Violates State Law

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a press release on Tuesday that Columbia’s school mask mandate violates state law and “should be rescinded.” In a letter (pdf) addressed to Columbia Mayor Stephen Benjamin and Columbia City Council, Wilson said, if the mandate isn’t rescinded, “the city will be subject to appropriate legal actions…


Internal Investigation Clears South Carolina Deputies Who Killed Man

GREENVILLE, S.C.—An internal investigation found that two South Carolina sheriff’s deputies who fired their guns during an encounter that left a man dead were justified in using deadly force. Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said in a video posted online Saturday that the investigation by his agency’s office of professional standards cleared the two deputies…


South Carolina Mayor Declares Emergency, Mandates Masks for Children Under 12

The mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, Stephen Benjamin, declared a state of emergency in the state capital on Wednesday, triggered by Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in Columbia reporting that it is reaching a “strained capacity” of children being diagnosed with COVID-19. The Columbia City Council in South Carolina subsequently ratified the state of emergency during…


University of South Carolina Drops Mask Mandate After AG Says It Violates State Order

University of South Carolina (USC) has canceled its plan to enforce face coverings on campus for the upcoming fall semester, after the state’s attorney general warned that it would go against the intent of state legislation. The USC, whose campus in Columbia serves more than 35,000 students, on July 30 announced that everyone must wear…


Suspect in Fatal South Carolina Shooting of 3 Found in Florida

COLUMBIA, S.C.—The suspect in the killing of three people in rural South Carolina hopped on a plane after the shootings and was arrested hours later at a Florida hotel, authorities said. A man and two women were killed in the shootings Monday around 3 p.m. inside a Greenwood County home just off U.S. Highway 25,…


Man Gets Life for Killing Woman Who Mistook His Car for Uber

COLUMBIA, S.C.—A South Carolina man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for the 2019 abduction and murder of a 21-year-old college student who mistook his car for her Uber ride. The jury took a little more than an hour to find Nathaniel Rowland guilty of killing Samantha Josephson, a University of South Carolina student…


Alabama Leads 20 States Supporting South Carolina In Abortion Lawsuit

Twenty states led by Alabama are supporting South Carolina’s defense of a new abortion law, arguing that a federal judge was wrong to pause the entire measure instead of just the portion being challenged in court. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall argued that U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis was wrong to pause the entire measure in a July…


Cable TV Worker Killed, Public Workers Shot in S. Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C.—A Charter Communications worker was killed in a South Carolina shooting and standoff that also wounded two public workers repairing a sewer main, a deputy, and a woman inside the home where the shooter was barricaded, authorities said. The man who shot the workers fixing the sewer, 45-year-old Shannon Earl Smith, died from at…


Prominent SC Prosecutor Found Wife and Son Shot Dead: Police

A prosecutor from one of South Carolina’s most prominent legal families found his wife and son killed by gunfire near their property earlier this month, police announced. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) issued a release about their investigation into the deaths of Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22. Authorities said that on June 7…