Man in custody after shooting near school results in lockdowns, SC cops say
Police have taken a man into custody following Monday’s shooting near an elementary school in the Columbia area that prompted several schools to be locked down, according to the Forest Acres Police Department.
Shortly after noon, officers responded to an emergency call about a shooting in the Covenant Crossing area, police said in a news release. Shots were fired into a vehicle near the intersection of Bethel Church Road and Covenant Road, according to the release.
Officers found the vehicle had been struck while leaving Ravenwood Hills Apartments and stopped about a mile away at Bradley Elementary School, police said.
Forest Acres Police took Ty’ quan Kelly, 20, into custody the release said.
Police Chief Don Robinson said Kelly was apprehended without incident after an undercover Richland County deputy saw him walking near Bradley Elementary.
On Tuesday, Kelly was charged with two counts of attempted murder, discharging a firearm into a vehicle, aggravated breach of peace and unlawful carrying of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to police.
Kelly was booked at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, jail records show. He’s scheduled to have a bond hearing Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Robinson said at a Monday afternoon press conference that the incident appears to be related to a domestic altercation and that the victims, are physically unharmed but mentally distressed.
A gun was recovered Monday, near the scene of the shooting, according to police.
Search warrants are being executed for a vehicle and apartment at Ravenwood Hills Apartments, connected to the suspect, Robinson said.
There was a large law enforcement presence in the area Monday afternoon, police said. That included officers, a drone and a K9 unit from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, according to the release.
As a precaution, several schools in Forest Acres area — Brockman, Timmerman, Harmony and Bradley Elementary, as well as The Therapy Place — were on lockdown, police said. Satchelford Elementary was advised to increase security, according to the release; there was no indication the school was placed on lockdown.
“I would like to thank my officers, City of Columbia Police and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department for their quick response to yesterday’s incident,” Robinson said Tuesday in a news release. “We are turning our focus to determine how this violent, convicted felon was free to commit another crime, especially after a judge granted him bond following the 2023 apartment mass shooting despite law enforcement deeming Kelly a danger to our community. Something that has now been proven yet again.”
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This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 2:12 PM.
