Update: Child Shooting Fatality | Harbison Boulevard – City of Columbia Police Department
Shooting
200 BLOCK OF HARBISON BOULEVARDCOLUMBIA
12/24/24 2:30 PM
Columbia Police Department’s (CPD) Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB) investigators have completed the investigation regarding the Christmas Eve child shooting fatality in Harbison last year. For several weeks, CPD investigators have reviewed surveillance video and evidence gathered by crime scene investigators from CPD and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and conducted interviews with witnesses and the child’s family members. CPD investigators presented the case for review and participated in multiple discussions regarding evidentiary findings and applicable laws with the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Upon that thorough review of the facts and circumstances of the case, it has been determined that criminal charges are not applicable. The investigation determined that the adult caregiver was not engaged in any illegal activity at the time of this incident and under current state law; the firearm was not required to be stored in a secure area within the vehicle. Therefore, under these facts, there is insufficient evidence of a criminal violation in this tragic incident. Other determining factors: No evidence of underlying criminal activity The child’s mother and father are lawful gun owners The gun is normally unloaded and stored in the vehicle’s console with the magazine in a separate location That there was a lack of communication between parents regarding new location of loaded gun Recap of Incident: Shortly after 2:30 p.m. on December 24, 2024, CPD officers were dispatched to 264 Harbison Boulevard for an emergency call for a shooting involving a juvenile. When officers arrived on scene, they found an unresponsive child. EMS took the boy later identified by the Lexington County Coroner’s Office as 4-year-old Jah’el Walker to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased. CPD investigators determined that Walker’s mother went to a local store with the 4-year-old and his three siblings. Video surveillance confirmed by timestamps shows the mother stepping away from the vehicle for less than 3 minutes prior to the shooting. Moments later, another child ran inside the store to report the shooting injury. Investigators determined that an accidental discharge of the firearm occurred in the vehicle. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the gun was not normally loaded and stored inside of the bag that remains in the vehicle. Under current state law, the firearm is not required to be stored in a secure area within the vehicle; however, the mother normally secures it in the vehicle’s console with its magazine in a separate location. CPD investigators have determined that the loaded gun was temporarily placed in a bag in the vehicle days before the tragedy. The mother was not fully aware that of the gun’s new location. The parents have been cooperative with law enforcement.
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