Florence County

A judge has shut a courtroom from the public and reporters as he heard pretrial motions in the death penalty case of a South Carolina man charged with killing two police officers in a 2018 ambush. Court hearings in South Carolina are almost always open. But WPDE-TV reported that lawyers for Frederick Hopkins successfully argued Thursday holding a public hearing about whether some evidence or statements from witness would be allowed at his trial would expose potential jurors to information a judge might later decide to exclude. Prosecutors did not challenge the request.

Investigators in South Carolina say an 8-year-old boy visiting from New Hampshire has been shot and killed by a man randomly firing a gun at passing cars from woods near his house. Authorities say Quarius Dunham died Sunday, a day after he was struck in the neck by a bullet in Florence County. Officials say his father was driving and was struck in the leg. Investigators say 40-year-old Charles Montgomery Allen was arrested in the woods and charged with murder. Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye says Allen appeared to be high on drugs and deputies had dealt with him in the past, but investigators aren't sure why he started shooting at cars Saturday.