Man was enraged when he shot his mom’s acquaintance 5 times, SC prosecutor says
A man was a teenager when he angrily confronted his mother before fatally shooting her acquaintance, South Carolina officials said.
Now 23, James Thompson was recently convicted of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said Tuesday in a news release.
On April 8, a Richland County jury deliberated for three hours before finding Thompson guilty, according to the release.
Judge Billy McGee presided over the trial, and will sentence Thompson at a later date, the solicitor’s office said.
The conviction stems from a 2021 shooting where 41-year-old Lexington resident Shannon L. Brown died, The State previously reported.
On Feb. 25, 2021, Thompson went to his mother’s house in the 100 block of Walnut Grove Circle with a stolen gun following an ongoing dispute with his mother and her acquaintance, later identified as Brown by the Richland County Coroner’s Office, officials said. That’s in Irmo, near the intersection with Old Tamah Road and about a mile from I-26.
Thompson knocked on the door, and his mother answered, finding him “angry and enraged,” the solicitor’s office said.
Brown went outside to remove Thompson from the area when Thompson pulled out a gun, according to the release.
Brown tried to disarm Thompson, leading to a struggle and Thompson shot Brown five times, the solicitor’s office said. Brown was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the solicitor’s office said.
Thompson also accidentally shot himself in his lower body, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. The teen was treated for his injuries at an area hospital before he was taken into custody, according to the sheriff’s department, which led the investigation.
Assistant Solicitors Nick Fowler and Carson Anderson led the prosecution for the solicitor’s office. Attorney Debra Moore was listed as Thompson’s lawyer, Richland County court records show.
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Man was enraged when he shot his mom’s acquaintance 5 times, SC prosecutor says."
