Sheriff’s deputies shot at while serving Columbia eviction notice
A pair of Richland County sheriff’s deputies came under fire Friday morning while serving an eviction notice in Columbia.
The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. while deputies were serving the notice at a home on the 2500 block of Gervais Street, not far from the intersection with Millwood Avenue.
The tenant of the home knew he was being evicted Friday, Sheriff Leon Lott said at a Friday afternoon news conference. The deputies, accompanied by the property owner, announced themselves at the home but received no answer from anyone inside, Lott said. As they proceeded to try to enter the home, a man inside fired a shot through the door, the sheriff said.
“Fortunately, no one was standing in front of that door,” Lott said. “We’re just, through the grace of God, lucky today.”
The sheriff’s department said its deputies did not return fire. Neither they nor the property owner were injured.
Lott identified the shooting suspect as Johnathon Ballard, who the sheriff said had an unspecified relationship with the landlord.
Ballard ran from the home and was caught in a nearby field by a Columbia police officer who also responded, Lott said.
Ballard was in custody after the shooting and is expected to be charged with three counts of attempted murder, Lott said.
Friday was the second time within a week that Midlands law enforcement officers came under gunfire. On Tuesday, officers in West Columbia were shot at by a suspect who barricaded himself inside a hotel for six hours after an alleged domestic dispute.
“Nothing we do is minor. We never know,” Lott said Friday. “There’s no such thing as a routine call.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 10:33 AM.
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