14-year-old is killed and another teen charged with murder, Richland County sheriff says

One teenager is dead and another has been charged with murder and other crimes, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday.

At about 7:45 p.m. Monday, deputies responded to reports of a shooting in Columbia, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

When deputies arrived to a wooded area near the 2400 block of Kneece Road, they found the body of a 14-year-old who had been shot multiple times, according to the release. The woods where the body was found is in the area between Decker Boulevard and Richland Northeast High School.

The Richland County Coroner’s Office is expected to publicly identify the 14-year-old after notifying the next of kin.

No other injuries were reported.

A 16-year-old male has been arrested and charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and unlawful carry, the sheriff’s department said.

Information on how deputies determined the 16-year-old was the shooter was not available.

The shooting is possibly gang related, and continues to be investigated by the sheriff’s department, according to the release.

“It is always devastating to lose such a young person to gun violence,” Sheriff Leon Lott said in the release. “It is sad to think that these kids are out here killing each other, and taking someone’s life means nothing to them. I keep stressing that the 14-28 age group is where we are seeing our violent crimes and loss of life. This is a community problem. We need the community to help us save the kids.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 9:09 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