Man charged with murder after shooting near Shop Road

One person is dead and a man has been charged with murder after an early-morning shooting Sunday on Joe Louis Drive in Columbia.

Deputies with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department responded to 1145 Joe Louis Drive to a report of shots fired at about 2:40 a.m., sheriff’s spokesman Curtis Wilson said. Upon arrival, responders found a person with gunshot wounds to the upper body.

The victim was pronounced dead upon arrival at Richland Palmetto Health Hospital, Wilson said.

Investigators located the suspected shooter, Melvin James White, 54, later Sunday morning. White has been charged with murder.

“We do understand they were acquaintances and alcohol was involved,” Wilson said.

The Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate.