Police seek help in identifying more wanted suspects from violent Columbia protests
Law enforcement is seeking the public’s help in finding six people who authorities say are wanted for violent acts at protests in downtown Columbia last month.
The individuals caught on photo and video participated in assaults, threw bricks, tossed police-fired tear gas canisters, and deployed chemical irritants at other people, said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott at a press conference on Monday.
“You all will be arrested,” Lott said. “If you see yourself, turn yourself in and save yourself from having us to knock on your door at 4 a.m. and put you in handcuffs.”
One suspect, wearing a black t-shirt that says “Sniper Gang” on the front and “Sticks” across the back, can be seen in a previously-released video striking a man who was punched and assaulted at one point during the May 30 march. Two other people have been charged with assaulting the man, an employee at a Vista business that his attackers accused of calling the police. Lott said the suspect “stomped” the victim after he fell to the ground.
Another man was caught on video hurling a tear gas canister back at a line of police at one point when police were attempting to drive the line of protesters back. Deputies are also seeking a woman who reportedly struck an officer with a water bottle, a man who struck a woman with a brick causing “serious medical problems,” and a man who sprayed some kind of unidentified chemical agent at deputies, Lott said.
The last person can be seen in photos spray-painting the Lincoln Street parking garage across from Columbia police headquarters. Investigators believe the same man destroyed several privately-owned surveillance cameras around the downtown area that day.
Hundreds of people marched on the S.C. State House and Columbia police headquarters on May 30 to protest the killing of an African-American man, George Floyd, in police custody in Minneapolis.
The main march was peaceful, but clashes erupted between some protesters and police officers at the police department. The crowd was forcibly dispersed, and some protesters set police cars on fire and later smashed store windows in the Vista area downtown.
Dozens of arrests have since been made related to the protests, including some on charges of looting, instigating a riot and criminal conspiracy. Lott said 83 arrests in total have resulted so far from the protests the weekend of May 30 and 31.
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 3:51 PM.
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