Man who shot father, attacked mother arrested in Myrtle Beach, sheriff says

The South Carolina man accused of attacking his parents at their Midlands-area home has been arrested, the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday.

Joshua Williamson was taken into custody Saturday after he was located in Myrtle Beach by the Myrtle Beach Police Department, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Williamson, charged with attempted murder, was arrested without incident a week after the Oct. 3 attack at his parents‘ home in the Lake Wateree area north of Columbia, according to the release.

The Florence resident shot his father with a rifle and choked his mother until she passed out, the sheriff’s office said.

Neither Williamson’s father nor mother suffered life-threatening injuries in the attack, Sheriff Will Montgomery previously told The State.

No motive was given for the attack, but Montgomery said his office has had a couple of calls in the past year about disturbances at the residence.

In addition to Florence and Fairfield counties, Williamson has connections with Aiken County, and Montgomery said he was working with law enforcement agencies in those areas, along with the U.S. Marshals Service, in the search.

Information on how Williamson was located in Myrtle Beach was not made available.

There was no word if Williamson had a weapon on him when he was arrested, but the sheriff’s office considered him to be armed and dangerous after the attack on his parents.

The sheriff’s office did not say if Williamson was being held in Myrtle Beach, or if he was moved to Fairfield County.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published October 12, 2020 at 8:15 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription