Drive-by shootings after teen’s death in Lancaster SC were related retaliations, feds say
Federal agents say a series of shootings around the small South Carolina city of Lancaster are being investigated as related retaliations after a teen was gunned down last month.
The violence includes six drive-by shootings and has spurred Charlotte-based agents from the FBI and ATF to offer a $20,000 reward, according to a statement released late Monday.
The city of Lancaster, located east of Rock Hill and south of Charlotte, has around 9,000 residents.
Lancaster County deputies, city police, the State Law Enforcement Division and federal agents are working together on six drive-by shootings where one teen has died, another person was hurt, and several houses have been targeted with gunfire.
Law enforcement has credible evidence that shows the batch of shootings are likely related, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Doug Barfield said Tuesday. A news release said a series of retaliatory shootings followed an 18-year-old’s killing, but police did not say what evidence they have in the case, citing the ongoing investigation.
Jelani Jackson, 18, died Sept., 4 in the first drive-by shooting on Clinton Avenue. The next day, shots were fired at homes near the intersection of Pardue Street and Arch Street and at houses on City Avenue.
On Sept. 7, one person was hurt after shots were fired at houses off Shelton Street. Later that day, houses on Cane Mill Road and Oxford Circle were hit by gunfire, police said.
Then on Sept. 11, shots fired from a Dodge Charger on Foster Heights Drive, federal agents said.
One arrest - police seek other suspects
On Sept. 11, Kenyan Lamar Blair, 19, of Lancaster, was charged with murder in Jackson’s Sept. 4 death. Blair had been in jail since Sept. 5 on other charges when he was charged with Jackson’s murder, according to sheriff’s office records.
Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile and Charlotte ATF bureau chief Bennie Mims said the violence has to end.
“This indiscriminate shooting damages property and hurts and kills people including those who have nothing to do with the disputes among the shooters,” Faile said. “It must stop.”
The federal reward is for information that leads to arrests and convictions in Jackson’s death and the retaliation shootings afterward. Lancaster Police Depart Chief Don Roper said he hopes the reward is an impetus for people to assist law enforcement to solve the cases.
Anyone with information about the cases can contact the ATF at 1-888-283-8477, email at ATFTips@atf.gov. All tips will remain anonymous.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 12:28 PM.
