Shooting suspect barricaded inside Midlands shopping mall apprehended

A Midlands shopping mall was struck by bullets on Sunday and a suspect barricaded himself inside before being apprehended, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

James Parrish Jr., 36, was taken into custody early Monday morning following a standoff, according to public information officer Sgt. Brittany Jackamonis.

Around 8:30 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to an alarm at the Columbia Place Mall on the 7200 block of Two Notch Road, public information officer Lt. Curtis Wilson said. Deputies discovered someone had fired a gun into a business, hitting the mall and a vehicle in the parking lot where bullets were discovered, Wilson said.

No injuries were reported, but a glass window was destroyed.

In the process of clearing out the business, deputies located a suspect inside the mall, Jackamonis said. Parrish barricaded himself inside, and deputies, a special response team and hostage negotiators worked to get him to surrender.

After being taken into custody, Parrish was taken to an area hospital for treatment on what Jackamonis said was a minor cut to his head.

No word on what prompted the shooting and Parrish’s charges haven’t been released, as the Richland County Sheriff’s Department continues to lead the investigation.

This story was originally published March 26, 2017 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Shooting suspect barricaded inside Midlands shopping mall apprehended."