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COLUMBIA — A 15-year-old male was shot multiple times Friday afternoon in central Columbia near the intersection of Benton Street and Garth Avenue.
Police received a call of shots fired at 3:53 p.m., and when units arrived at the location they discovered the victim lying in the street with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the Columbia Police Department.
- Officer Jeff Forck, right, questions the Rev. Aaron Favors at the crime scene near the intersection of Garth Avenue and Benton Street. Favors was the first to arrive on the scene where a 15-year-old was shot Friday in Columbia.
- The Rev. Aaron Favors, left, says he heard four shots fired and came to the aid of the 15-year-old who was shot shortly before 4 p.m. Friday in Columbia. "This is a nice neighborhood. I can't even believe it happened, to be honest," Favors said.
As of 7 p.m. Friday, the victim was alive, but his condition was unknown. Detective Jeff Westbrook said the injuries were not life-threatening.
Police said the suspect is a male driving a black pickup truck.
The Rev. Aaron Favors of the Log Providence Missionary Baptist Church, whose aunt lives on Benton Street, said he heard four shots and saw the victim lying in the street. Favors said he went to help the victim and observed four gun shot wounds: one in the right hand, two in the left leg and one in the right leg. Police have not confirmed the number of times the victim was shot.
Favors said the victim told him that the suspect shot him from a vehicle and fled the scene. He said the victim was responsive and speaking to him while they waited for emergency personnel to arrive.
“He hasn’t lived long enough to do enough to deserve that,” Favors said.
The shooting occurred in the street in front of the residence of Justin Purdy, who said he came home from work right around the time of the shooting but did not hear the shots because he was in the shower. He said in the two months he has lived there, he has not experienced any similar incidents.
“I take a little bit of solace in the fact that my neighbor told me that nothing like this has happened for the last three or four years,” he said. “So I guess it’s bad timing.”
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