9-year-old boy was killed in accidental shooting, Richland County sheriff says
The shooting death of a 9-year-old boy was determined to be an accident, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.
Christopher Scott III was killed Monday night, according to Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford.
Christopher and another child were playing with a gun when the weapon fired, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
At about 6:30 p.m. Monday, deputies received a call that a child had been shot in the 1000 block of Weston Road and was being driven to an area hospital by his mother, according to the sheriff’s department. That’s in the Hopkins area, near Congaree National Park.
Deputies located the mother and got her to pull over, allowing them to transfer the child and mother to a patrol car, according to the release. From that point, there was a joint effort by both sheriff’s deputies and Columbia police officers to get the child to the hospital.
The child was pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital, the sheriff’s department said.
Investigators learned Christopher and the other child took the gun from inside the home and were playing with it in a vehicle parked outside, according to the release.
After the gun went off, the other child ran for help, and the mother immediately got in the vehicle and began driving to the hospital, the sheriff’s department said.
No other injuries were reported.
Rutherford’s office said the death was a homicide, but no charges will be filed in the incident, according to the sheriff’s department.
“These kinds of accidents happen in an instant and we plead with parents to please, please make sure that firearms are locked up inside the home,” Sheriff Leon Lott said in the release.
Christopher was a fourth-grade student at Hopkins Elementary School, according to Richland 1 Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon.
The superintendent said the district was “shocked and saddened” to learn a student had been killed. The Richland 1 crisis team was at Hopkins Elementary Tuesday to provide support and counseling to students and staff, according to Witherspoon.
“This is a tragic situation and our hearts are broken for this family,” Lott said. “We ask the community to keep them in their thoughts.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
