Armed & dangerous man wanted from Columbiana Centre mall shooting arrested, police say
A third man, who was called armed and dangerous following the shooting at Columbiana Centre, was arrested Wednesday, jail records show.
Amari Sincere-Jamal Smith, 21, was charged with attempted murder, unlawful carrying of a pistol and nine counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to records at the Lexington County Detention Center.
Smith turned himself in to law enforcement officers, according to the Columbia Police Department. He will have a bond hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday, police said.
Following the bond hearing, Smith’s next scheduled court appearance on the charges is on June 9, Richland County judicial records show.
Police previously arrested Jewayne M. Price, 22, and Marquise Love Robinson, 20, on the same charges in the days following Saturday’s shooting at the shopping mall in Columbia that injured 15 people. None of the victims injured in the shooting and melee died.
Price and Robinson were denied bond and are being held at the Lexington County Detention Center. That is also where Smith is detained, jail records show.
When announcing Robinson had been taken into custody Monday, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said Smith was also wanted for being one of the shooters, saying he “absolutely should be considered armed and dangerous.”
The police chief said the motive for the shooting was an “ongoing dispute between the people we identified as suspects.” The three men knew each other before the shooting, Holbrook said.
“We had three people who showed at a crowded mall Saturday ... carrying weapons, and they fired their guns, and we had nine people hit by gunfire,” Holbrook said. “Innocent people got injured in the crossfire.”
Nine of the injured were hit by gunfire and six others were hurt as people rushed to exit, according to the Columbia Police Department.
The victims range in age from 15 to 73 years old, police said. The 73-year-old woman was the only victim who continued to receive medical treatment at a local hospital as of Tuesday.
Police have seized two guns they believe were used in the shooting, and the weapons along with other evidence will be processed at the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division lab, Holbrook said.
Holbrook said police are still seeking information from people who were at the mall on Saturday.
“This was a traumatic event, and sometimes it takes time for something to register or to remember something,” Holbrook said. “Every little piece of information is helpful.”
Anyone with information can call police at 803-545-3525.
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This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 7:33 AM.
