Third man arrested after fatal shooting of 20-year-old woman at party, Columbia police say
A third man was arrested in connection to the deadly shooting of a 20-year-old woman at Greene Crossing Apartments from March 13, the Columbia Police Department said Thursday.
Trajan Mack, 23, was charged with pointing and presenting (a firearm), police said in a news release.
Mack, who was taken into custody Wednesday at a Wilson Boulevard gas station by police and members of the U.S. Marshals Service, joins Kejuan Boyce, 23, and Dennis Williams, 24, as men who have been charged in connection to the deadly shooting, according to the release.
Boyce fatally shot 20-year-old Jamaica Dowling during a party at the downtown Columbia apartment complex that was initially advertised on social media, police said. Boyce was charged with murder and possession of a firearm during a violent crime, according to the release.
When he was arrested in March, Boyce was out on bond from a charge of illegally possessing a gun in Spartanburg County, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said.
Doctor’s told Dowling’s mother that the 20-year-old was shot six times.
About a week after Boyce’s arrest, Williams was charged with accessory after the fact to murder and breach of peace (aggravated in nature), police said.
Investigators believe that multiple people went to the party armed with firearms, handguns and what is described as assault-style weapons, according to the release.
Police said the investigation shows the shooting stemmed from an argument inside of the apartment and multiple people began shooting.
There was no word on what they were arguing about prior to the shooting.
Officers who were dispatched to the scene arrived to active gunfire, confusion and chaos as partygoers ran out of the apartment in an attempt to safely leave the area, according to the release.
In addition to Dowling, there were four other shooting victims; a 22-year-old male, a 19-year-old male and two 16-year-old males, police said. None of the victims were residents at the complex that’s within a couple of blocks of both Huger Street and Colonial Life Arena, according to police.
“It was a running gun battle,” Holbrook said in March. “This could have been a mass casualty incident.”
Williams witnessed Boyce fire multiple rounds down a hallway inside the complex before he fired a weapon at a moving vehicle in the parking lot of the apartment complex, police said.
Additionally, Williams drove Boyce away from the crime scene, where he failed to render aid to Dowling and didn’t call police to report the incident, according to the release.
Mack is accused of pointing a gun toward a crowd of people in a hallway inside the complex, police said. At the time of his arrest, Mack was out on bond for a murder that occurred in 2016 in Richland County, according to the release.
His bond was set at $50,000 and Mack remains behind bars at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, police said.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 2:15 PM.
