WIS-TV carried two stories and no names.
RCSD reported that a 16-year-old was arrested a short time after the body of the 14-year-old was found early that Monday evening in a wooded area north of the RNE.
Was either boy a student at RNE?
WIS-TV is not releasing the name of the deceased boy, because his parents requested privacy.
The first article is here: https://www.wistv.com/2022/03/08/14-year-old-killed-richland-county-shooting/
The second article, on March 9, including a WIS-TV interview with Sheriff Lott, is here: https://www.wistv.com/2022/03/09/sheriff-leon-lott-addresses-teen-gun-violence-richland-county/
That article has been considerably shortened since last Wednesday.
I have not been able to find any follow-up stories.
Is gun violence among teens now so common in Richland County that media are no longer informing viewers and readers of key information?
Richland 2 was instrumental in forming a coalition of eight area school districts and tagged BeSMART to be involved. I heard that BeSMART had been involved with Richland 2 for two years to produce this effort.
Well, just exactly what is the plan here? Will this just be another program that is "All Talk and No Walk"?
Having programs at schools and passing out gun locks is not going to solve the problem that has been allowed to grow for years - many years! The problem is that empty space between two ears of so many kids.
Sheriff Lott offered one answer to parents in the TV interview. "Be nosy" in your kid's life. Know who his (her) friends are. Know where he is. Know what he is posting and reading on social media. Know what's on his phone. Know what's in the book bag.
I'll add: Know how he is doing in school. Or if he is even in school. Recognize his language and attitudes. Know where he is at night.
That area may be on of the most dangerous in Richland County. At a community meeting several years ago, I heard a parent say that she put her young children in the bathtub at night, hoping the tub would stop any bullets fired in drive-by shootings.
[EDITED 3/15/22] WACH.TV reported that the 14-year-old who died on March 7 was Trevion Fuller. Still trying to learn what school he attended. Read the 3/15/22 article here.
[EDITED 3/16/22] WACH-TV pulled their story and it is no longer available. An obiturary is posted on the website of Pressley Cares Mortuary Services. It currently reads that Trevion "peacefully transitioned on March 7, 2022." The WACH-TV print story included a reference to a Columbia anti-gun violence effort. The original GoFundMe, organized by a woman in Orangeburg, cannot now be found. A different GoFundMe has been started.
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