He avoided prison after shooting 2 people. Then he shot 2 more, Richland deputies say

The teenager charged with shooting two people at a Columbia mall last weekend had, three months earlier, pleaded guilty to shooting two people in 2016, records show.

Tony Gilmore, 19, is charged with two counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of a stolen weapon in connection with the Saturday shooting outside Columbia Place mall, according to the Richland County Sheriff's Department. He tried to run from deputies Monday but was arrested after a short foot pursuit.

Officials have said two groups were in the parking lot of the Two Notch Road mall around 2:40 p.m. when shots rang out. One shooting victim walked into the mall and collapsed in the food court. He remains in the hospital in critical condition, the sheriff's department said. The second victim had non-life threatening injuries and has been released from the hospital.

It's not the first time Gilmore has faced a pair of attempted murder charges. He was charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection with a January 2016 shooting that also was investigated by the sheriff's department, according to State Law Enforcement Division records.

Gilmore, who was 17 at the time, was accused of shooting two people in a car parked on Foxhunt Road one night in January 2016, according to a sheriff's office incident report.

No arrests were made at the time, but several days later, Gilmore was taken to the emergency room by Columbia police officers after he was the victim of a robbery in an unrelated incident, officials said at the time.

A deputy handcuffed Gilmore and escorted him out of the hospital, but the teen broke away and fled toward Sunset Boulevard as the officer opened the patrol vehicle door, according to reports at the time. Gilmore was later found on Monticello Road, still in the handcuffs he was wearing before he escaped, the sheriff's department said.

In addition to the two attempted murder charges, Gilmore also was charged with two counts of malicious injury to personal property for that 2016 shooting incident, records show. On Jan. 30 — less than three months before the Columbia Place mall shooting — he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, and the two property charges were dismissed.

Assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature carries up to 20 years in prison, under South Carolina law. Circuit Court Judge Allison Lee sentenced Gilmore to eight years in prison suspended to time served and four years probation. He had been in jail for about two years, or 722 days, Richland County court records show.

Prosecutors recommended active prison time with a cap of eight years, according to the sentencing sheet.

It is unclear if Gilmore has retained an attorney on the mall shooting charges.

This story was originally published April 17, 2018 at 5:36 PM with the headline "He avoided prison after shooting 2 people. Then he shot 2 more, Richland deputies say."