4-Year-Old Boy Shot Dead on Christmas Eve

What's New

A 4-year-old boy has died after a shooting in South Carolina on Christmas Eve, according to local law enforcement.

Columbia police said that Jah'el E. Walker had died after being shot inside a vehicle on Christmas Eve, and that the firearm used in the shooting had been recovered.

Newsweek contacted the Columbia Police Department for more information on this story via email.

Why It Matters

In 2022, over 1,000 people in South Carolina died as a result of gun violence, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

In March 2024, South Carolina legalized the open carry of firearms without a permit to anyone 18 years of age or older that is not prohibited by law.

U.S. Real Estate News ranks the state capital of Columbia as having a "higher than average" crime rate, with 831 violent crimes being reported there in the last year. According to Neighborhood Scout, this makes it safer than only 7 percent of other places to live in the U.S.

What To Know

Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher confirmed that Walker died from his wounds on Christmas Day, after police reported that a 4-year-old had been shot inside a vehicle on Christmas Eve.

The skyline at Columbia, South Carolina, on June 18, 2013. The city was the site of a shooting that led to the death of a 4-year-old on Christmas Eve. Getty Images

Police officers said that they had recovered the firearm, and investigators were interviewing the child's mother about the event. At time of writing, no one has been arrested in connection to the shooting.

Authorities said that Walker was inside a car in the parking lot unsupervised with other children at the time of the shooting. The shooting occurred on Tuesday, along Harbison Boulevard in the South Carolina state capital.

The Gun Violence Archive has recorded over 480 cases of mass shootings in the U.S. throughout 2024. For the last four years, an average of two people a day have died due to gun violence.

What People Are Saying

Columbia police officers described the event as "terribly sad," writing in a statement that authorities would "continue to determine how the child was fatally injured. Additional information will be released when possible."

What Happens Next

Authorities in Lexington County are investigating the shooting and have said that they will release more information about the case in the future.

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