Teenager dead after ‘accidental shooting’ in moving car, SC cops say
.jpg "A South Carolina teenager was killed in what law enforcement called an accidental shooting.")
A South Carolina teenage boy was killed in an “accidental shooting,” Wednesday night, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Caleb Jamar Elijah Roach was identified as the teen who died, according to Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger. The 18-year-old was pronounced dead at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center of a “trauma related death,” the coroner said in an email.
The shooting occurred inside of a moving vehicle, the sheriff’s office said in the news release.
In an email, Spartanburg County School District 7 confirmed Roach was a senior at Spartanburg High School where he was a member of JROTC and scheduled to graduate in the spring, WSPA reported.
“Principal Jeff Stevens said, tonight, that Caleb was an outstanding young man with a wonderful personality and will be deeply missed,” the email read.
While Roach’s death is being considered an accident based off “preliminary actions,” the sheriff’s said in the news release that it will meet with the solicitor’s office on Thursday “to determine if any criminal charges are applicable.”
There is no threat to the public, according to the news release, which said sheriff’s deputies have interviewed “all parties involved” in the teenager’s death.
Along with law enforcement, the coroner’s office is still investigating the fatal shooting.
“Please keep the family of this young man in your thoughts and prayers during their time of grief and loss,” Clevenger said in the email.
Roach is the second Spartanburg High School student to die this year, and a coach at the school also died in January, The State reported.
“As Spartanburg High School students and staff deal with yet another loss of life this year, Stevens went on to say that counselors will be on hand tomorrow during school hours to support the Spartanburg High School staff and students,” the school district said in the email, WSPA reported.
This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 11:08 PM.
