1 charged in apparent accidental shooting that killed Columbia teen Sunday

A Columbia teenager was killed in what authorities say appears to be an accidental shooting in northeast Richland County early Sunday.

The shooting happened just after midnight at a home on Cherrywood Drive in Elgin, according to Deputy Katelyn Jasak, a spokesperson for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies arrived and found a male victim with a gunshot wound to the upper body.

The victim has been identified by the Richland County Coroner’s Office as 17-year-old Jalin Palmer, of May Oak Circle in Columbia. An autopsy indicated Palmer died of a single gunshot wound to the upper torso.

Nicholas Butler, 20, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to Jasak.

“Preliminary results find that the circumstances surrounding the incident may be accidental,” she said. Additional details about the shooting were not immediately available.

Butler was placed in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

This story was originally published January 22, 2017 at 12:31 PM with the headline "1 charged in apparent accidental shooting that killed Columbia teen Sunday."