11-year-old killed and the gunman’s wife was later found dead, SC cops say
A South Carolina man who was arrested Wednesday night after a child was fatally shot then confessed to killing his wife, leading law enforcement officers to find her body, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Reuben Arthur Leonard, an 80-year-old Sumter resident, will be charged with murder, the sheriff’s office said Thursday in a news release. Information about more charges was not available, but during a news conference Chief Deputy Hampton Gardner said he can foresee more charges.
An investigation, which includes the Sumter Police Department, is ongoing and more information will be released.
‘His intentions were to kill everyone’
At about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, deputies responded to report of a shooting on Floyd Drive, where a neighbor — identified as Leonard — entered a home and began firing a weapon, according to the release.
At the home, deputies found an 11-year-old child that had been shot, and Leonard who was being restrained by family members, the sheriff’s office said.
The Sumter County Coroner’s Office said Ashley McFarland is the child who died at the scene.
“The 11-year-old (who was in a front room of the home) was struck and killed instantly,” Gardner said.
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Leonard walked about 100 yards from his home, through a wood line to the Floyd Drive house where there were about 10 to 11 people inside, according to Gardner.
Leonard was “firing an assault rifle ... we feel his intentions were to kill everyone in the house,” Gardner said. “He started shooting at anyone he saw.”
He was also armed with a second weapon, a handgun, that was taken from Leonard by deputies, according to Gardner.
A possible motive
Information about a motive for the shooting was not available, but Gardner said it might have stemmed from ongoing issues about target practice shooting in the yard of the Floyd Drive home, which led to multiple complaints from Leonard.
“For the past couple weeks, we’ve been getting calls from Leonard because people on Floyd Drive were target practicing in their yard,” Gardner said “Complaints were made by him. ... He’d been going over and talking about shooting.”
But responding deputies determined the practice shooting presented no danger, and no county ordinance makes it illegal to fire at targets in their yards as long it is safe, which is what the sheriff’s office had determined, according to Gardner.
“We responded, found it was safe and didn’t do anything” about the target shooting at Floyd Drive, Gardner said. “It was nowhere near (Leonard’s) yard.”
Gardner said he didn’t think any other residents had complained about any practice shooting.
Another body is discovered
Leonard was taken into custody and told deputies that he had killed his wife prior to the shooting on Floyd Drive, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies notified police officers, who responded to Leonard’s Saltwood Road home and discovered his wife’s body, according to the release.
When traveling on paved roads, the Saltwood home is less than a mile from where the child was killed on Floyd Drive.
Leonard’s 76-year-old wife was found shot and killed inside the home’s garage, police said.
“We don’t know what the motive is behind that,” Gardner said of the 76-year-old’s death.
The coroner’s office said Felicia Leonard was shooting victim. Autopsies for both shooting victims have been scheduled, according to police.
What is next
Leonard was taken by EMS to an area hospital for treatment of injuries, the sheriff’s office said. He is expected to recover, according to police. As of 1 p.m. Thursday, he was still being treated at the hospital, Gardner said.
When he’s released, Leonard will be booked into the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. He could be charged with single counts of murder by both the sheriff’s office and police department for the crimes that occurred in separate jurisdictions.
“This is a horrific incident, and our investigators are working diligently to uncover all the details,” Sheriff Anthony Dennis said in the release.
An escalating situation
On Monday, Leonard was charged with breach of peace (non-aggravated in nature), Sumter County court records show. He owed $257.50 connected to the arrest, and Leonard was scheduled to return to court on that charge June 18, according to judicial records. Information about bond was not available.
Gardner said that arrest was from a previous incident where he went to the Floyd Drive home to complain about the target shooting.
Gardner said he believed Dennis had spoken to Leonard on Wednesday, prior to the deadly rampage. In that conversation, Gardner said the sheriff told Leonard if the 80-year-old had further issues to either call 911, or the sheriff himself.
Instead, Leonard stormed his neighbor’s home and what followed was something that Gardner called “senseless.”
BEHIND THE STORY
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This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 11:55 AM.
