South Carolina man is killed and another is charged with murder, officials say

One South Carolina man was killed Saturday in a shooting and another has been arrested, officials said.

Samuel Raymond Wright, a 47-year-old Greenwood resident, was shot and taken to an area hospital where he died during surgery at 4:43 a.m., the Greenwood County Coroner’s Office said.

Another Greenwood resident, 23-year-old Bryson Thomas Long, was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office.

At about 2:20 a.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a call about a shooting near S.C. 72 in Greenwood where they found a crowd gathered around an unresponsive victim, the sheriff’s office said.

The victim, who was later identified as Wright, had been in an argument with Long prior to the shooting, according to the sheriff’s office. Information about why the men were arguing was not available and there was no word if they knew each other prior to the incident.

Witnesses identified Long as the suspected gunman, and he left the scene following the shooting, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies searched the area and found Long when he was coming out of nearby woods, according to the sheriff’s office.

Long was taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Greenwood County Detention Center, the sheriff’s office said. Bond was denied on both charges and Long remains behind bars, jail records show.

Despite the arrest, the death continues to be investigated by the sheriff’s office and coroner’s office.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 864-942-8703 or 864-942-8632.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription