6-year-old child shot in the face, sparking investigation, SC sheriff says

A 6-year-old was shot Monday night in a South Carolina home, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

The child was taken to Prisma Health Richland hospital in Columbia and is in serious condition, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday in a news release. At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Chief Deputy Hampton Gardner provided an update, saying the child was in stable condition.

At about 10 p.m. Monday, deputies responded to a call about a shooting at a home on Montana Drive, according to the release.

The child, who is autistic, was on a bed with his mother nearby, Gardner said at the news conference. The mother reported seeing a flash, then realized that the child had been shot in the face with the .45 caliber pistol, according to Gardner.

No other injuries were reported.

The mother then rushed the child into a vehicle and was driving to a hospital, when she saw an ambulance at a gas station, according to Gardner. The child was then transported to the ambulance and taken to the hospital, Gardner said.

There was no word about how the child gained access to the loaded handgun inside the Sumter home, but the shooting remains under investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

“Weapons should be secured,” Gardner said multiple times. “The No. 1 killer of children are handguns.”

No arrests have been reported, but Gardner said that there could be charges. There was more than one gun in the home, according to Gardner.

“This should not occur,” Gardner said.

This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 1:11 PM.

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