By David Travis Bland
Source The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Bullets tore through an apartment complex, flocks of partiers scurried away, and the shooting lit up the night as the gunmen spilled onto Pulaski Street in Columbia on Sunday.
"It was a running gun battle," Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said. "This could have been a mass casualty incident."
At a Thursday news conference, Holbrook described the frantic moments in which a party at Greene Crossing apartments turned into firefight between multiple gunmen packing handguns and "assault-style" firearms.
Greene Crossing is a complex popular with college students.
When the smoke cleared, five people, including three teenagers, were bleeding from wounds, and a 20-year-old "innocent bystander" lay dying from six bullets.
Police are still searching for other shooters, but have charged one man so far. That man was out of jail on bond from a previous gun-related arrest, according to court records and Holbrook.
'A hail of gunfire'
The party at an apartment in Greene Crossing had been advertised on social media as a "BNB" party.
Holbrook reported that the advertisement said: "Bring you own booze."
People had to take a shot of alcohol to get into the apartment, a flyer said.
Sometime around 2 a.m., two factions at the party began to argue, Holbrook said. Exactly what the argument stemmed from, Holbrook said, he didn't know. But he's previously seen social media beefs and minor arguments and other "ridiculous stuff" all escalate to crimes.
Whatever the argument, people with "complete disregard of consequences" pulled out guns and squeezed the triggers, Holbrook said.
At the news conference, surveillance video from an apartment hallway showed people in pajamas, hinting that it might have been a pajama party, running down the hall in fear of the shooting. Some people dropped items, heedless of anything but escaping the bullets.
The gunmen loosed "a hail of gunfire" at the apartment complex, Holbrook said. Video showed gunmen carrying handguns and assault style weapons.
The gunmen ran after each other, according to Holbrook, through the halls and onto Pulaski Street near its intersection with Greene — only about a block from Colonial Life Arena and less than a mile from Columbia's popular entertainment district, The Vista.
Columbia police arrived with lights flashing. Even as they jumped out of their cars, the sound of gunfire accented their police sirens.
It was only by luck that an officer wasn't hit, Holbrook said.
One of the officers swept through the apartment. The officer found 20-year-old Jamaica Dowling on the ground, breathing, but with six bullets in her body. The officer applied a tourniquet and gave other medical treatment.
Help was futile.
A 22-year-old male, a 19-year-old male and two 16-year-old males were also shot, but none had life-threatening injuries, according to police.
Chief pleads 'helps us hold people accountable'
The Columbia Police Department announced the arrest of Kejuan Boyce in the shooting.
The department charged him with murder and possession of a gun during a violent crime. He is currently awaiting a bond hearing at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, according to jail records.
Boyce had previously been arrested for a gun crime.
In March 2021, police in Spartanburg charged Boyce with illegally possessing a gun. He was jailed and released on $500 bond by a Spartanburg County magistrate, court records show.
Notably, Columbia police have not charged anyone with attempted murder or aggravated assault in the cases of the four wounded victims.
The state of South Carolina does not "hold people who carry guns illegally accountable," Holbrook said. "It's not something that seems to be important to this state."
Boyce's arrest came from rugged police work and not community tips, Holbrook said.
Holbrook estimated that around 75 people attended the party. Holbrook called the lack of people coming forward about the shooting a "troubling and consistent theme" in Columbia.
For a year or more, Holbrook has begged for more people to help police by providing information about shootings. Police know there are witnesses to shootings, but those witnesses simply won't talk to police often, Holbrook has said.
With frustration and exhaustion in his voice, Holbrook said he doesn't know what it will take to "shock the conscious of our community."
'Helps us hold people accountable," Holbrook said.
Already this year, Columbia has had 18 shootings with two dead, according to the department.
That follows a nearly 30% increase in Richland County shootings in 2021 compared to 2020.
Near the end of the news conference, Holbrook steadied his voice and once again asked for the community to help police find the people with "no respect for human life" who unleashed chaos and saddled one family with the grief of a lost relative.
"Now's the time to be forthcoming," he said to those who attended the party and who know the shooters.
Holbrook asked people with information or tips about the shooting to call Crime Stoppers at 888-274-6372. Tips can be anonymous.
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