Articles labeled: columbia

A 14-year-old in Columbia, South Carolina has been charged with two counts of murder — one for his mother, who he allegedly shot to death, and one for her unborn baby.

Sherryle Terry, 35, who was eight months pregnant, was shot several times in her home on Sunday night. The girl she was carrying also died in the shooting, Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee said.

The boy was arrested a few hours later at a relative’s house after witnesses told police he was the shooter, said Darlington County Chief Deputy Tom Gainey, who would not talk about what the teen said to investigators.

He is charged with two murder counts because the baby could have lived outside the womb, said Prosecutor Jay Hodge, who plans to ask for the teen to be tried as an adult.

The teen also shot his 12-year-old sister in the neck, but she is expected to survive, Gainey said. The boy had not been in trouble with the law before and deputies have no motive for the killings, Gainey said.

We would say a story like this falls firmly on the plus side for those who argue against allowing people to carry concealed weapons.

A 4-year-old girl shot herself in the chest this morning after taking a small-caliber handgun from her grandmother’s purse at a Sam’s Club in Columbia, S.C.

The child, who was not identified, was rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery. Doctors said this afternoon the bullet caused “no major damage,” the The State newspaper reports.

The girl’s grandmother was identified as Donna Hutto Williamson, 47. She has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. No charges were filed.

Well this is a new one — while we’ve covered stories before about teachers being attacked, it’s usually by one of their students, not another teacher:

Eighth grade teachers Tawana Horton, 30, and Cambrella Pinckney, 28, bumped into each other during a hallway class change Friday afternoon at St. Andrews Middle School and began fighting, according to a report by the Richland County sheriff’s department.

The two teachers told an officer that they had an ongoing personal dispute, the report said.

The teachers were charged with disturbing schools and have been placed on administrative leave, deputies said.

“This occurred with students on the scene and they witnessed what happened,” Richland School District 1 spokeswoman Karen York. “Teachers are looked at as role models. That doesn’t set a good example.”

Oh, really? You think teachers punching each other in the school hall sends a bad message to the kids? We’re guessing the two might soon find themselves “ex-eighth grade teachers”.

I will never understand why a mother would hurt her child, let alone, murder their little boy.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The young mother called police with a story out of any parent‘s nightmares. Amanda Reagan Smith says a knife-wielding carjacker forced her to drive to a secluded, wooded area in Greenville, S.C. Once there, he pushed her out, locked the car doors and pressed a pillow to the face of her 7-year-old son.

Now, more than a month after the Aug. 12 killing, the case remains unsolved. And the worry that once filled Greenville has sharpened into questions about his mother‘s account. The case has also revived vivid memories of another mother named Smith — Susan Smith — who told a similar tale.