Fewer people killed in Richland County in 2019
The number of people murdered in Richland County dropped 22 percent in 2019, down from a decade-high number of murders the previous year.
Twenty-one people were slain in 2019, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Of those crimes, four remain unsolved.
“I’m proud of the work our deputies have done to foster the kind of environment that has helped us solve these senseless crimes,” Sheriff Leon Lott said in a news release. “Our agency is effective because of the relationship with have with our citizens, and we look forward to continuing to build the bridges that will help us continue to make Richland County safer in 2020.”
A year earlier, the county experienced a 27 murders, the most in a decade. A total of 35 homicides occurred in 2018, but some of the killings were considered justifiable, and some suspects were charged with manslaughter rather than murder, according to the sheriff’s department.
At the time, Lott attributed the spike in violent deaths to a “gang mentality” among young people with guns.
Since April 2019, deputies have seized 855 guns, of which 153 were stolen, according to the sheriff’s department.
There are still at least four unsolved killings in Richland County from the past year:
- May 5: A 68-year-old man was found shot in his Eastover home.
- May 12: A 26-year-old man was killed after leaving a club near Columbia Place Mall.
- Sept. 14: A 33-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body was found wandering in the 7200 block of Clifford Drive.
- Dec. 15: A 26-year-old was shot and found lying on the ground in the 1100 block of Hallbrook Drive.
This story was originally published January 4, 2020 at 9:17 AM.
