15-year-old charged with murder after 41-year-old woman was killed, SC sheriff says
A woman is dead and a 15-year-old is locked up after being charged with murder, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office said.
The shooting happened April 3 at Roosevelt Garden Apartments in Orangeburg, the sheriff’s office said in a recent news release. That’s by U.S. 601, less than a mile from Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School.
At about 8:20 p.m., deputies were responding to reports of a shooting when they were directed to a vehicle in the road occupied by the victim — a 41-year-old Florida woman, the sheriff’s office said.
The Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the woman.
Witnesses and friends said the woman was part of a group assisting another acquaintance move out of her apartment, according to the release.
Information about a motive for the shooting, and if the woman was the intended target, was not available.
No other injuries were reported in the release.
There was no word how the 15-year-old, who is not being publicly identified because of his age, was connected to the shooting by the sheriff’s office. But the teen was arrested April 17 and is being held at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice after appearing for a family court hearing, according to the release.
“This is a kid who should be in school with classmates,” Sheriff Leroy Ravenel said in the release. “But he’s out there shooting at people, killing people, and there is absolutely no reason a 15-year-old should have gotten to this point. ... This has absolutely got to stop.”
Despite the arrest, the sheriff’s office said its investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.
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