Child shot after finding gun stored near snacks, Richland County sheriff says
A South Carolina woman’s young child was shot Monday night and she was arrested, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
The child survived what the sheriff’s department called an accidental shooting.
The mother, 23-year-old Hayley Johnston, was charged with three counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, the sheriff’s department said Tuesday in a news release.
At about 7:30 p.m. Monday, deputies responded to reports of a single shooting victim at an apartment complex in the 8700 block of Windsor Lake Boulevard, according to the release. That’s in a part of Columbia near Exit 76 on I-20.
Deputies located a young child, under the age of 7, with a single gunshot wound to the lower body, the sheriff’s department said. EMS took the child to a local hospital, and as of Tuesday morning the child was in stable condition, according to the release. Further information on the child’s medical status wasn’t available.
An investigation revealed that the child was unsupervised when it found Johnston’s unsecured gun, which was being stored in a closet that also contained children’s snacks, the sheriff’s department said. The child was injured as the result of an accidental discharge, according to the release.
The child removed the gun from the shelf and was playing with the weapon when the accidental shooting happened, the responding deputy said in an incident report.
The sheriff’s department said that two other children were present in the home and were not hurt, and no other injuries were reported. The sheriff’s department said it notified the South Carolina Department of Social Services, but information about who is caring for the children was not available.
Johnston was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center where she’s waiting for a bond hearing, jail records show. Following that, Johnston is scheduled to return to court May 29, Richland County judicial records show.
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This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 11:39 AM.
