By late morning, the 500 block of West Rutledge Ave. was quiet and still. Little evidence existed, outside of the collection of news vans parked in the Gaffney Senior Center lot across from the Granard Courts Apartments, that a 17-year-old had died here on his way to school this morning.
According to witnesses living here and both Gaffney City and Cherokee County officials, a fight broke out at the foot of a school bus stopped here on just the third day of classes in Gaffney this year. Seventeen-year-old Jomiltron Fair, neighbors say, was attacked by another male. A fight broke out. Fair’s backpack was pulled away. His phone flew out, and then he was shot.
Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said Fair was pronounced dead at the scene, with 15 school students on the bus or at the stop as witnesses.
No other students were hurt in the shooting. Fowler said video “shows the shooter flee to a waiting vehicle driven by another person immediately after the incident.”
A teenager who was at the stop when the shooting occurred ran back to her mother, Summer Daniels, who asked the girl to tell her story. The girl described seeing a car pass and return to the bus stop repeatedly before the shooter got out and attacked Fair.
“And then we all started running,” she said.
Daniels had just sent her daughter to the bus stop.
“It was five seconds,” Daniels said. “She went out the door and was right back in screaming, ‘They're shot!’ I didn't know what was going on.”
Daniels does not know Fair, but does know the family. She said that she and they are reeling from the news, even as Daniels is processing her own relief that her daughter was not hurt.
“When I found out it wasn't mine, I was real relieved,” she said. “But it still hurts because it's somebody's child. It's nonsense. Hiding behind guns.”
She said, “You don't think telling your child bye, you love them, they’re going to school and they're never going to come back. That's the worst feeling.”
As of this story’s publishing, Gaffney Police have released few details of the shooting. On the department’s Facebook page, GPD stated: “The Gaffney Police Department is working closely with the Cherokee County School District as we continue to manage this incident and ensure the safety of our community, students, and school personnel. Due to the sensitive nature of the investigation, no additional details are being released at this time.”
In a social media statement, Gaffney Mayor Lyman Dawkins III wrote, “My heart is broken over the tragic news of the shooting this morning,” and called out “senseless violence” on the streets.
“We ALL have a responsibility to keep fighting against it and do whatever it takes to protect our young people and one another,” Dawkins wrote, adding, “we cannot accept it as normal. Gaffney, we must keep working together, loving one another, and fighting for the safety and future of our community and youth.”
The 500 block of Rutledge Ave. is part of the Gaffney Housing Authority, or GHA. There are four public housing courts in the city program. Neighbors who did not wish to be identified said that Granard Courts was the last place they would have expected violence like what happened Wednesday morning to occur.
Daniels, too, said that Granard Courts has good neighbors who live well with each other.
“We’ve never had that kind of thing happen here,” she said.
In an email to South Carolina Public Radio, GHA Executive Director Tiffany Askew called for the same kind of community support that Dawkins has called for.
“Our community of Gaffney is hurting, and now more than ever, we must come together with compassion, love, and support for one another,” Askew wrote. “During times of tragedy and difficulty, let us remember that no one should have to face their pain alone. Please keep the affected family, our children, and everyone in the community in your thoughts and prayers.
“Let’s support one another, check on our neighbors, offer a helping hand, and show kindness wherever we can. This is a time for unity, not division — a time to lift each other up and remind one another that we are stronger when we stand together. The Staff and Commissioners of The Gaffney Housing Authority remain committed to serving our families and supporting them in their time of need.”
SLED is assisting the investigation, along with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. Officials, as of this story’s publishing, have not publicly identified a suspect in Fair’s death. Fair’s family was not available for comment for this story.
This story will be updated as relevant information comes in.
