A shooting call at the entrance to the Lake Carolina neighborhood in Northeast Columbia on Monday set off a chain of welfare checks that uncovered a second crime scene with a dead woman and a third victim who narrowly escaped being shot when the gunman's weapon ran dry. Richland County deputies have charged 75-year-old Donald Wheeler with murder, attempted murder and burglary in connection with the spree.
Call to Palmetto Park Circle Triggers Manhunt
Deputies responded around noon Monday to the 100 block of Palmetto Park Circle, at an entrance to Lake Carolina, where they found a woman shot in the upper and lower body and rendered emergency aid until EMS arrived to take her to a hospital, according to the Post and Courier. Lake Carolina is an 1,850-acre master-planned community in the Pontiac area, built around a central lake and served by Richland County School District Two, per Lake Carolina's community profile.
The suspect had already left the scene by the time deputies arrived, according to the original report from WYFF. Deputies broadcast a description of his vehicle across local law enforcement channels, and it wasn't long before they located a matching car in the Koon Store Road area and took Wheeler into custody for questioning.
Hospital Statements Point to a Second Scene
Wheeler was initially detained as a person of interest around 2 p.m., with formal charges announced later that afternoon, the station's report notes. It was statements from the first victim, given to deputies while she was hospitalized, that redirected the investigation to a residence in the 300 block of Reseda Drive, outside the Lake Carolina neighborhood.
There, deputies discovered a second woman dead from a gunshot wound to her upper body; she was pronounced dead at the scene, per the same account. That discovery prompted a third welfare check, this time for another woman in the Koon Store Road area.
Third Victim Says Gun Ran Out of Bullets
That woman was found uninjured, but she told deputies that Wheeler had entered her residence, pointed a firearm at her and pulled the trigger — only to discover the gun was out of ammunition, according to the article. Wheeler faces attempted-murder and burglary charges, the Post and Courier reports.
Richland County deputies have not publicly disclosed a motive connecting Wheeler to the three women across the separate locations, nor have the victims' identities been formally released. Wheeler faces one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and first-degree burglary.
Suspect Held at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center
Wheeler was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia following his arrest, where he remained held while awaiting a formal bond hearing. The facility, located at 201 John Mark Dial Drive, serves as Richland County's primary detention center for unsentenced arrestees and hosts Magistrate Bond Court hearings daily, according to Richland County Government.
The charges Wheeler faces carry severe statutory exposure under South Carolina law. A murder conviction under South Carolina Code § 16-3-20 carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years to life in prison or the death penalty, with no parole eligibility, while first-degree burglary under state code is punishable by 15 years to life. State law also classifies murder, attempted murder and first-degree burglary as violent crimes, subjecting a conviction to restricted sentencing and parole rules.
