shooting

Authorities say a store owner in South Carolina charged with murder this week after shooting a 14-year-old boy he wrongly thought stole water has shot at suspected shoplifters two other times in the past eight years and not faced charges. Richland County deputies say 58-year-old Rick Chow got in a fight with a shoplifter in 2018 and shot the man in the leg. They say in 2015, a suspected shoplifter got in a car after Chow tried to stop him and Chow fired several shots at the vehicle after the suspect threatened to shoot him. Chow's lawyer has not commented on Monday's murder charge or the other shootings.

A South Carolina gas station owner has been charged with murder in the death of a 14-year-old boy whom he allegedly chased from the store and shot in the back. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says station owner Rick Chow incorrectly suspected that Cyrus Carmack-Belton had shoplifted water from the Shell station. After a verbal confrontation, Carmack-Belton fled and was pursued by Chow's son. Rick Chow joined the chase, armed with a pistol. Lott says Chow fired, striking Carmack-Belton in the back.

Authorities say three people have died in a truck after someone in it fired at a different vehicle in South Carolina and then the truck crashed into a North Carolina house while trying to get away from law enforcement. Investigators say the chase started around 1 a.m. Sunday in Blacksburg, South Carolina, and ended with the pickup, which had turned off its headlights, slamming into a house in Shelby, North Carolina.

A lawsuit claims officers fired approximately 50 rounds at a despondent man on what was supposed to be a wellness check. The sheriff's office claims officers reacted appropriately to a man with a gun.

Authorities say masked gunmen fired without warning into a crowd at a late night teen party at a South Carolina park over the weekend and wounded nine people. Richland County deputies say all nine hit by gunfire Saturday are expected to live. A woman who was injured when she was run over by a fleeing car and another person who was cut on the hand are also expected to recover. Deputies say teenagers from several high schools had gathered at Meadowlake Park near Columbia. The afterhours "flash party" had been announced on social media. Authorities say dozens of shell casings from several different weapons have been collected.

A South Carolina trooper was shot in the face over the weekend after stopping a vehicle for speeding. The Highway Patrol says the trooper's condition is not life threatening and he is recovering in a hospital. Officers say the driver, 37-year-old Derrick Gathers, eventually crashed while being chased by a second trooper and other officers. Authorities say Gathers was taken to jail after being treated at a hospital. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder.

Police in South Carolina say six people have been wounded in a shooting on a beach during a "senior skip day" event involving numerous teenagers. Friday's shooting took place around 5:20 p.m. on Isle of Palms, about 90 miles south of Myrtle Beach. Isle of Palms Police Chief Kevin Cornett says hundreds of people were on the beach and there were several altercations beforehand. Six people suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. Five of them were teens and another was in her mid-30s.

A jury in South Carolina has convicted a man who riddled a home with bullets in 2017, killing one person inside. The Post & Courier reports that Maurice Durell Wigfall of Hanahan was sentenced Friday to 45 years for the death of Steven Hutchins. He was sentenced to another five years on a weapons offense. Circuit Judge Jennifer McCoy sentenced Wigfall after a four-day trial. Jurors heard that Wigfall and another man shot up the home after a gun was taken from one of the men earlier on Oct. 31, 2017. The other suspect's case is still pending.

A South Carolina woman arrested on attempted murder charges is the daughter of a top local prosecutor. Lela Sampson and Jakqui Stewart, both 18, are charged with attempted murder, discharging a firearm into a dwelling, criminal conspiracy and six counts of first degree assault and battery. The charges stem from a Thanksgiving shooting in South Congaree. Police say six shots were fired from a car into a house. No one was injured. Sampson is the daughter of April Sampson. She is the circuit deputy solicitor in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, which covers Richland and Kershaw counties. April Sampson declined to comment on her daughter's arrest.

Virginia has canceled a home football game against No. 23 Coastal Carolina scheduled for Saturday following a shooting on campus that left three players dead and another wounded.