Third arrest made in suburban SC high school prom after-party shootout
A third gunman has been arrested in connection with a shooting earlier this month at a high school prom after-party in Blythewood, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.
Jamari Nelson, 23, was arrested at his home Thursday and charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, the sheriff’s department said in a statement Friday.
During the arrest, investigators found two firearms, one of which is connected to an open investigation in another jurisdiction, according to the statement.
Nelson’s arrest stemmed from an early morning shooting on April 5 in the 200 block of Blythewood Road, in which more than 60 shots were fired during a “pop-up” after-party that attracted 200 people, Sheriff Leon Lott said during an April 11 news conference.
Two people were hit amid the barrage of bullets, which sent partygoers running through a parking lot, a video released by the sheriff’s department shows.
Several businesses on the stretch of Blythewood Road between Main and McNulty streets also were damaged during the shooting, the sheriff’s department said.
Two 18-year-old high school students were arrested April 10 in connection with the shooting.
Darrell Birch and Nahjere Suber both were charged with breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature, the sheriff’s department said.
At the April 11 news conference, Lott asked parents who recognized their children in the video of the shooting or knew their child had attended the party to notify the sheriff’s department or risk arrest.
The statement released Friday thanked parents and their children who had since come forward with information and said their tips had yielded valuable information that allowed investigators to identify the individuals connected to a black Maserati Lott mentioned at the news conference.
The sheriff’s investigation of the Blythewood Road shooting remains under investigation and additional arrests are possible, the agency said.
An unrelated shooting at the Columbia Place Mall that occurred the same week and that Lott also discussed at the news conference earlier this month remains under investigation, the department said.
The agency said Friday that investigators had received “numerous tips” about the mall shooting, in which four gunmen fired at least 25 shots inside a Macy’s store, and that “arrests are forthcoming.”