Armed man had gun turned on him during attack that left one dead, SC cops say

One person was killed and another was injured during a recent shooting outside a motel in South Carolina, according to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office.

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The shooting victims were the ones who initiated an assault on an unarmed man, who was able to wrestle a gun away from one of the attackers and then open fire, the sheriff’s office said.

Jonquarius Gibson, a 27-year-old from Winnsboro, is the man who died from the injuries he suffered in the Sept. 10 shooting, according to Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill.

At about 2 a.m. on Sept. 10, deputies responded to reports of a shooting at the America’s Best Value Inn, the sheriff’s office said. That’s at 1894 U.S. 321 in the Winnsboro area, across the street from the MUSC Health Fairfield Emergency facility.

Investigators determined that three people left the emergency room and walked across the road to the hotel, with one of those individuals armed with a handgun, according to the sheriff’s office. As the trio approached the hotel, the armed individual saw a man that he knew standing outside one of the hotel rooms, and that man was unarmed, the sheriff’s office said.

After seeing him, the armed individual ran toward the unarmed man, and a fight immediately followed, according to the sheriff’s office. Information about why the trio was at the emergency room was not available, and there is no word about why the armed man charged the other man.

A witness said the armed individual tried to hit the man in the head with the handgun during the confrontation., and surveillance footage confirmed that the armed individual initiated the confrontation, the sheriff’s office said.

The footage also showed that as the two men struggled, a second individual begins running toward them, according to the sheriff’s office. That second individual was later identified as Gibson.

During the struggle, the man being attacked was able to get possession of the gun and fired, shooting the armed individual in the shoulder, the sheriff’s office said. Gibson continued advancing toward the man, who then fired again, shooting Gibson in the leg, according to the sheriff’s office.

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Deputies and EMS personnel who responded provided aid to both injured individuals who were then taken to Prisma Health Richland hospital in Columbia for treatment, the sheriff’s office said.

Gibson was bleeding heavily from the wounds he suffered in the shooting and was taken into surgery at the hospital, where he died, according to the coroner’s office. An autopsy will be performed by Newberry Pathology, the coroner’s office said.

Further information about the condition of the other shooting victim was not available. There was no word if the man who was attacked at the motel was hurt, but no other injuries were reported.

Evidence gathered during the investigation consistently showed that the individual who fired the shots had initially been attacked by an armed individual, gained control of the weapon during the struggle, and then used that weapon while the confrontation was continuing, the sheriff’s office said.

No arrests have been reported, but the shooting remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 803-635-4141.

In the case of an emergency, always call 911.