14-year-old killed after fight at Midlands McDonald’s, police say
A teenager is dead and a man is behind bars after a fight turned into a shooting at a Midlands McDonald’s, the Sumter Police Department said.
Jacob Russ, a 14-year-old Sumter resident, was shot and killed Sunday, according to the Sumter County Coroner’s Office.
The teenager was at the McDonald’s at 101 N Lafayette Drive when gunfire erupted, police said. That’s in an area densely packed with fast food restaurants, and is less than a mile from Prisma Health Tuomey hospital.
The shooting happened at about 3:45 p.m., according to the coroner’s office.
Marcques Charles Wright Jr., a 25-year-old Sumter resident, is an employee at the McDonald’s and was in a fight with another employee, police said. Information about why the fight started was not available.
A relative of the employee who Wright was fighting was at the restaurant and tried to break up the fight when Wright pulled a gun and began firing before running away, police said.
Russ, another relative of the employee fighting with Wright, was shot and died at the scene, officials said.
Police didn’t say if he was directly involved in the fight.
No other injuries were reported.
Wright was tracked down and arrested without incident, according to police. He was taken to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center and is facing a murder charge among other crimes, police said.
Wright is also being charged with two counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and unlawful carrying of a pistol, police spokeswomen Tonyia McGirt told The State.
There was no word if anyone else involved in the incident will be charged, but the shooting continues to be investigated by police and the coroner’s office.
An autopsy on Russ is scheduled for later this week at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
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This story was originally published February 13, 2023 at 7:49 AM.
