Second juvenile arrested in connection with killing of 15-year-old in Columbia
A second juvenile has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old in northeast Columbia earlier this week, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced Friday.
The 16-year-old juvenile was arrested Friday after investigators linked the teen to a shooting Monday on Quinton Lane, the sheriff’s department posted on Facebook. The juvenile is charged with accessory before the fact and accessory after the fact, and will be transported and booked at the Department of Juvenile Justice, the department said.
The sheriff’s department earlier this week arrested a 14-year-old suspect in the shooting itself. That juvenile was charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of a handgun by a person under 18.
The suspects’ names are not being released since they are under 18.
The fatal shooting occurred just before 3 a.m. Monday in northeast Columbia.
Roughly an hour later, a resident of the 200 block of Quinton Lane called 911 to report what they believed was a body on their back porch, the sheriff’s department said.
Responding deputies found the 15-year-old victim on the porch with multiple gunshot wounds and no vital signs. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sheriff’s investigators quickly identified a suspect and, with the assistance of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, served search and arrest warrants at a residence later that afternoon.
The search resulted in the arrest of the 14-year-old suspect and the discovery of a firearm, the sheriff’s department said in a statement. Investigators are still working to determine how the juvenile obtained the gun, which had not been reported stolen, according to the statement.
The shooting was one of three unrelated shootings in Richland County last weekend that killed two teenagers and left another critically wounded.
In the aftermath of the shootings, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott held a press conference where he called on community members, parents and grandparents to “do more” in response to teen gun violence.