Teen dies day after shooting at off-campus apartment, Richland County sheriff says
A shooting has turned into a homicide investigation after a man hit by gunfire died, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said Monday.
The shooting happened at The Rowan Apartments in the 1000 block of Southern Drive of Columbia, the sheriff’s department said in a news release. That’s between Shop and Bluff roads, not far from Williams-Brice Stadium, home of University of South Carolina Gamecocks college football team.
Deputies responded to a shots fired call at the apartment complex shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the release.
When they arrived, deputies said they found a man who was shot in the upper body. He later died from his injuries, the sheriff’s department said.
James Thomas was identified as the shooting victim, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said. An autopsy showed the 19-year-old Hopkins resident’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body, according to Watts.
The sheriff’s department said Tony Marquell Trapp is wanted on a murder charge for his role in the shooting. The 23-year-old “is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached,” according to the sheriff’s department.
Investigators also looking for the driver of a 2020 silver Toyota Camry seen leaving the scene. The sheriff’s department believes Trapp was a passenger in that vehicle, which it says has damage to the left rear quarter panel and paper tags.
The shooting remains under investigation, but the sheriff’s department is asking for the community’s help. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or report it to CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.
According to its website, The Rowan is “Columbia’s premier off-campus housing community,” and is marketed for USC, Allen University and Benedict College students.
Thomas was not a University of South Carolina student, according to USC spokesman Jeff Stensland.
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This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 12:16 PM.
