Crime & Courts

SC police searching for suspects in attempted robbery that ended with 2 dead

Police are searching for three men who they say shot and killed two people who were standing outside a house in Sumter.

The incident happened in the 300 block of Bowman Drive on Thursday just before 10:15 p.m.

The Sumter Police Department said investigators think the three men set out to rob the people at the house before the incident turned deadly. Witnesses said the men, wearing all black, pulled out handguns when they approached and began firing, according to department spokesperson Tonyia McGirt. The suspects fled toward Dogwood Street.

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Police received a shots fired call. When officers arrived they found 25-year-old Diego Alonzo Teletor dead. Police found another man, Gregorio Zarate Chun, 46, shot. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, where he later died.

Armed robbery is an aggravating factor in a homicide that allows a murder charge to be punishable with the death penalty.

Sumter police are offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to arrests.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sumter Police Department at 803-436-2700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-274-6372.

This story was originally published July 27, 2019 at 4:04 PM.

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David Travis Bland
The State
David Travis Bland is The State’s editorial editor. In his prior position as a reporter, he was named the 2020 South Carolina Journalist of the Year by the SC Press Association. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2010. Support my work with a digital subscription
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