Man accused of shooting at Columbia officers, public pleads guilty, police say

Two years ago, Brandon Chanell Joyner opened fire near Greystone Boulevard. On Wednesday, the Columbia Police Department announced on X that Joyner plead guilty to 10 counts of attempted murder and received a 25-year prison sentence.

Joyner, a Columbia resident, was indicted by a federal grand jury in March on an additional charge of owning a firearm while being a felon. That charge is pending, according to the police department’s post. It carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

On July 18, 2023, the Columbia Police Department received a call about a man firing shots in the air near the intersection of Greystone Boulevard and Stoneridge Drive near Riverbanks zoo. When officers arrived, Joyner began firing at them, police said. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the South Carolina Highway Patrol joined the response.

Two officers were injured that day. One hurt his knee while running towards the scene, and the other received a “small nick” while trying to find Joyner.

After being shot in the upper body by a Columbia police officer, Joyner was apprehended and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Joyner has a criminal history going back until 2015, including a 2022 charge for firing a gun in Greenwood and possessing a firearm while a felon.