One suspect in Meadowlake Park mass shooting cleared of attempted murder charges
One person charged in connection with a mass shooting in Columbia nearly two years ago was cleared of any wrongdoing, while charges against two others were reinstated by a grand jury.
Charges against Sincere Boatwright, Mayar Kual and Christopher Pearson were all dismissed last October during a preliminary hearing, according to court records. The men were accused of participating in a 2023 mass shooting at Meadowlake Park, where nine people were shot and two others injured as they tried to escape gunfire amid a large crowd.
Boatwright, Kual and Pearson were each charged with 11 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
In January, those same charges were reinstated against Boatwright and Kual after the sheriff’s office said it was unaware of the suspects’ preliminary hearing last October.
A sheriff’s department spokesperson said the investigator who initially brought charges against Boatwright, Kual and Pearson was no longer employed with the department when the preliminary hearing was scheduled, which is why the charges were initially dismissed.
Upon learning of the hearing, the sheriff’s department re-pursued charges against Boatwright and Kual via a grand jury indictment.
Boatwright and Kual were indicted on Jan. 30 and 31, respectively. Both men are awaiting an initial appearance, according to court records.
While charges against Pearson remain dropped, a spokesperson said new charges haven’t been “ruled out yet.”
Pearson’s attorney, Todd Rutherford, told The State last week that his client should’ve never been charged because he wasn’t at Meadowlake Park during the shooting.
“It was clear that Christopher Pearson never left his house that night,” Rutherford said. “It was backed up by video evidence on every door in his house and his windows were screwed shut, as verified by the solicitor’s office.”
5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement last week to The State, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Pearson’s arrest was based on Pearson’s social media post and a witness reporting that Pearson was involved.
“It is just as much our job to clear someone from being prosecuted as it is to have someone prosecuted,” Lott said. “Charges being dismissed on Pearson is appropriate at this time.”
Pearson “was an innocent man who got charged with a crime that he did not do, and he spent time in jail away from his family for something that was verifiable before the arrest that he didn’t do it,” Rutherford said.
Boatwright and Kual were represented by Drelton “DJ” Carson, who was not available for comment.
In the early hours of April 29, 2023, gunfire broke out at what was apparently a post-prom party at Meadowlake Park off of Wilson Boulevard in northwest Columbia. Nine people were struck by bullets and two were injured by the panicked stampede that followed. One girl was hit and run over by a car and another person suffered a hand injury.
The victims’ ages ranged from 16 to 20 years old, according to the sheriff’s department, but attendees came from all over the Midlands and as far away as Great Falls. Three of the students shot were from W.J. Keenan High School, Richland District One spokesperson Karen York told the The State, and one of the injured students attended C.A. Johnson High School.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM.
