A 17-year-old Gaffney High School student was shot and killed Wednesday morning as he crossed the street from his apartment to board his school bus while 15 classmates and the bus driver watched. The Cherokee County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Jomiltron Sentell Fair Jr., who lived at the Granard Court apartments near where the shooting happened, near West Rutledge Avenue in Gaffney, South Carolina.
Fair was shot dead near West Rutledge Avenue and the Granard Court apartments, according to WSOC-TV. The station reports he was walking across the street from his home to catch the bus when he was killed. Fifteen students were aboard that bus and witnessed the fatal shooting directly alongside the driver, as reported by The Gaffney Ledger, which also obtained detail on how the attack unfolded.
Onboard surveillance footage from the school bus captured an unidentified male suspect approaching Fair, engaging in a physical fight, firing shots, and then fleeing into a getaway vehicle driven by another person, per the same Ledger report. Investigators are working to identify the shooter and getaway driver. Children nearby witnessed the shooting, Gaffney City Councilwoman Cameo F. Wilson said, according to FOX Carolina.
State Investigators Join the Case
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division deployed its Special Victims Unit – Department of Child Fatalities to assist the Gaffney Police Department with the homicide investigation, according to KFBK News Radio. The department was standardly requested in connection with the case.
Law enforcement is still working to determine exactly what happened, FOX Carolina reported. Schools continued operating Wednesday under modified safety procedures, and school district officials scheduled increased police patrols at all local campuses through the end of the week, KFBK News Radio reported.
Third Day of School Turns Deadly
The shooting happened Wednesday morning, according to a Facebook post from reporter Cody Alcorn. The shooting involved a Cherokee County School District student. It occurred near the Granard Court apartment complex and West Rutledge Avenue, the Ledger reported.
Local leaders reacted swiftly and publicly. Cherokee County Councilwoman Teresa Corry Bonner and Gaffney City Councilwoman Rosa Webber were among the local leaders identified in coverage of the shooting, according to FOX Carolina.
‘Unspeakable Tragedy’ Prompts Calls for Unity
Local leaders called for action, according to FOX Carolina's report.
Gaffney Mayor Dr. Lyman Dawkins III released a statement saying his heart was broken over the death and calling for joint community action to curb youth violence, according to KFBK News Radio. The school district expressed thoughts for everyone affected, and local representatives and city officials released statements about the loss, FOX Carolina reported.
The reports reviewed did not detail the shooting's immediate aftermath. The reports reviewed did not provide broader crime statistics. No arrests have been announced, and the identities of the shooter and the getaway driver remain unknown as the investigation continues.
