1 man killed, 2 injured as shots exchanged near Shop Road

An argument between acquaintances escalated on Friday into a shootout in the Arthurtown neighborhood of Richland County, leaving two injured and another dead.

Jasmine Recasner, 19, said it was her brother who was killed in a shootout in the 100 block of Aster Circle in Richland County around 1:30 p.m. Recasner identified her brother, but The State newspaper is withholding his name until the Richland County Sheriff’s Department or the Richland County Coroner’s Office confirms it.

Lt. Curtis Wilson, spokesman for the sheriff’s department, said deputies were dispatched to a call reporting shots fired. When they arrived, they found a man who was unresponsive inside a home. The coroner’s office has since declared him dead.

Wilson said late Friday evening that Joseph L. Jones, 39, has been charged with murder. He said the investigation is still ongoing and could not provide any additional details.

Two other people were injured, Wilson said. One was taken to Palmetto Health Richland hospital with injuries to his upper body. Another person was injured in the arm. Wilson said both of their injuries were not life-threatening.

Shell casings littered the street in front of the home, indicating some of the gunfire happened outside the home as well.

“What we do know right now is there was a verbal altercation that took place inside the home, and then shots were fired,” Wilson said. “We do believe that there were multiple guns involved and multiple shots that were fired.”

Wilson said late Friday that investigators believe they have those who were involved in the shooting in custody, but they are still calling on anyone with information that can help them piece together what happened to come forward.

Recasner said she rushed to the house where the shooting took place, and found her brother on the floor and a friend attempting to help him. Shortly thereafter, investigators restricted access to the home.

“They said I couldn’t see him right now,” Recasner said.

Recasner’s father, who declined to be identified, paced back and forth in the carport of a nearby home in the 90th block of nearby Aster Street. He expressed frustration with the limited information that was being released by investigators on the condition of his son.

“They won’t let me go in and see my child,” Recasner’s father said. “They killed my baby. That’s my baby boy.”

Viera Anderson, who has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years, said she rushed home from the mall, where she had been Christmas gift shopping, after her 17-year-old daughter called to tell her shots were being fired near their home.

Anderson said she worried her 15-year-old son could have been caught in the crossfire, since he routinely hangs around outside their home.

“There are always kids around here,” Anderson said. “Kids are in and out of their houses.”

Anderson said everyone knows each other in the neighborhood and that it was unusual for such an incident to take place. She said she knew everyone involved in the shooting. She said she was surprised, because they all grew up with each other.

“They would always speak with each other,” Anderson said. “They never had any beef.”

This story was originally published December 23, 2016 at 2:16 PM with the headline "1 man killed, 2 injured as shots exchanged near Shop Road."