Shots fired leads deputies to grisly discovery of two bodies, Richland County sheriff says
Two people were killed and another was injured Tuesday night in a shooting, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
A pair of 22-year-old Columbia residents, Dominic Goodwin and Xavier J. Hopkins, are the men who died, Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said Wednesday.
At about 10 p.m., deputies responded to a report of a shooting in the 300 block of Hickory Ridge Drive, the sheriff’s department said Wednesday in a news release. That’s in the Columbia area, between Garners Ferry Road and Leesburg Road.
Deputies found a vehicle in a yard with two unresponsive victims inside, according to the release. They were later identified as Goodwin and Hopkins.
Both EMS and the Columbia Fire Department also responded and it was determined that the men in the car were dead, the sheriff’s department said.
A third shooting victim was located inside the home and taken to an area hospital, according to the release. The sheriff’s department said that person was shot multiple times and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but further information on their condition was not available.
Multiple shell casings were found in the road, according to an incident report.
The sheriff’s department called Tuesday’s gunfire a double homicide and said it’s “related to a possible drive-by shooting.” It was not clear if Tuesday’s shooting was considered a drive-by, and information about when a previous shooting happened was not available.
The sheriff’s department previously said two people were injured in a drive-by shooting that happened after they left a party in the area near the intersection of Briercliff Drive and Hardscrabble Road on Saturday night, but did not say that incident was connected to Tuesday’s shooting.
There was no word about a shooter or shooters, or anyone else involved in the Tuesday night gunfire.
No arrests have been reported, and the shooting continues to be investigated by the sheriff’s department.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.
