Man wanted in 3 deaths in Minnesota involved in shooting with cops at Columbia hotel
A man accused of killing a woman, her 2-year-daughter and unborn child in Minnesota was shot by police Sunday night at a Columbia hotel after he threatened to shoot officers, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.
Renard Lydell Carter came to Columbia to kill an ex-girlfriend who lives in Richland County, Sheriff Leon Lott said Monday.
The man’s 23-year-old girlfriend and her 2-year-old daughter were found dead inside an apartment in Rochester, Minnesota Sunday, the Post Bulletin of Rochester reported. The woman was pregnant, Lott said at a Monday afternoon news conference.
Rochester police learned the 29-year-old Carter was in Columbia, and were working with local law enforcement to take him into custody, the newspaper reported.
Carter is facing two charges of second-degree murder and another count of the second-degree murder of an unborn child, according to police.
On Sunday, after taking the ex-girlfriend to a safe house, Richland County deputies, as well as officers with the Columbia Police Department, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, tracked down Carter at the Aloft Columbia Harbison Hotel. The hotel at 217 Lanneau Court is near the intersection with Harbison Boulevard, and across the street from Columbiana Centre shopping mall.
At about 10 p.m., Carter was shot by law enforcement officers after he threatened to kill them, Lott said. Two Lexington County deputies and one SLED agent hit Carter with gunfire, according to Lott.
Carter was inside a hotel room when officers tried to talk him out, prompting him to say he had a gun and a rifle, Lott said. When he emerged from the room with a BB gun, the officers opened fire, the sheriff said.
“Unfortunately he chose not to go peacefully,” said Lott, adding officers later learned Carter’s weapon was “a BB gun. A little red rider gun. Shoot your eye out. ... I want to explain the officers actions, so there’s no doubt in the community about what they encountered.”
SLED requested the Richland County Sheriff’s Department lead the investigation into the shooting, according to a news release. Lott said investigators are still compiling information, and his department will turn its findings over to the 11th District Solicitor’s Office in Lexington County.
Carter will not face any new charges in South Carolina, according to the sheriff.
Police said Carter was hospitalized, but further information on his condition was not available. No officers were hurt in the gunfire, according to Lott.
“He was shot multiple times but is alive,” Lott said. When he is released from the hospital, Carter will be taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and eventually will be extradited back to Minnesota, according to the sheriff.
Before he was arrested, Carter recorded a video that showed him being shot, and it was shared on social media, police said. twice, according to TV station KIMT of Rochester. Police confirmed the video was shared on social media. That footage, along with officer-worn body cameras, will be examined as evidence, Lott said.
On Sunday, Rochester police said they were responding to a wellness check when the bodies of Keona Sade Foote and her daughter Miyona Zayla Miller were found. Autopsies have been scheduled to determine the cause of death.
Miyona was not Carter’s child, according to police.
“Someone very dangerous was apprehended,” Lott said.
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This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 5:02 AM.
