Deputy assaulted outside Columbia theater, Richland County sheriff says

A Richland County sheriff’s deputy received a concussion and other injuries while responding to a fight outside of a movie theater in northeast Columbia that has become a frequent issue for the department, Sheriff Leon Lott said.

On Saturday night, deputies arrived at the Village at Sandhill shopping center after receiving a 911 call describing a large group of teenagers fighting outside the Regal Sandhill theater, possibly with a gun in the mix. While a firearm was mentioned in the 911 call, the presence of a firearm hasn’t been confirmed.

Deputy Ambria Woolever attempted to break up the fight, but a 16-year-old slammed her against the pavement. Woolever rose and continued to break up the fight. The 16-year-old was then apprehended, and he is now charged with second degree assault and battery as well as breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature.

Woolever was taken to the hospital and released later in the evening, having been injured in the head, arm and hip, according to the sheriff’s department.

“She didn’t lay on the ground and cry and complain and give up,” Lott said after playing a video of the incident at a Monday a press conference. “You’ll see that she got up, and she engaged again with what was going on. That is what a deputy does.”

In 2025, the department responded to 44 violent incidents at the theater, Lott said. He added that most of the businesses at the shopping center have met with the sheriff’s department to discuss and implement safety improvements, including better surveillance and blocking off dark areas and roads.

The theater, which has its own ownership separate from the shopping center, has not joined these conversations, Lott said.

“The theater has been kind of a magnet that’s drawn most of the problems we’ve had at the Village at Sandhill,” Lott said.

The rest of the Village at Sandhill has a nighttime curfew and escort policy, but the theater has not cooperated with it, Lott said. The Regal location’s website does state that moviegoers under 17 years of age must have a parent or legal guardian with them after 9 p.m. from Friday to Sunday.

Regal, the chain that operates the Sandhill theater, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Elsewhere in the center, deputies work special duty. This is where the deputies are hired to work off duty by a hosting business, but they still wear their uniforms and can make arrests.

In 2023, Lott said that the sheriff’s department would stop sending deputies to work security at the theater after a series of brawls broke out in front of it. From the theater, that fight spread to neighboring businesses, leading to a “flood” of 911 calls, the sheriff’s department said. Two teens were arrested, including one arrest for assaulting a deputy. Hosts usually let the department know about upcoming events several days in advance, but the theater did not give a heads up about the promotional event that day which drew large crowds of teenagers, the department said.

“We’ve been dealing with this for years,” Lott said. “This is not something new at the theater. We have tried working with them.”

This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 4:00 PM.