A Lexington County sheriff's deputy was wounded in a shooting Saturday afternoon at Jamil Temple, where a gun and knife show was underway, according to two witnesses. Traffic cameras captured a massive law enforcement response converging on the building just off I-26 near St. Andrews Road, and a video circulating on social media showed the deputy being taken away on a stretcher.
The witness accounts, reported by ColaDaily, say the wounded deputy belongs to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. An unconfirmed report said the deputy was shot in the leg. The State, meanwhile, reported that accounts of a shooting involving at least one Lexington County deputy and a suspect began circulating Saturday afternoon, while cautioning that details about possible other victims and the surrounding circumstances had not been confirmed.
According to The State's account of a post from Lexington County SC Firewire on Facebook, emergency services responded to a reported shooting at Jamil Temple while the gun and knife show was taking place inside. That same post said area hospitals were alerted to a possible mass-casualty incident and that air medical crews were placed on standby, an indication of how seriously first responders treated the initial reports even as the full picture remained unclear.
Deputies, Columbia Police Converge on Harbison Site
South Carolina Department of Transportation traffic-camera footage showed a large law enforcement presence near Jamil Temple in the Harbison area, the station notes. The Lexington County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident, with the Columbia Police Department assisting.
Officials have not released what prompted the law enforcement response, the station's report states. Jamil Temple had scheduled a gun and knife show for the weekend, but it remains unclear whether the law enforcement response is connected to that event. Jamil Temple sits at 206 Jamil Road in Lexington County.
A Venue With a Troubled History
Saturday's incident is not the first time gunfire has disrupted an event at Jamil Temple. In 2020, a patron accidentally discharged a firearm while trying to unload a weapon at a Gun & Knife Show at the Jamil Shrine Center, though no one was hurt, according to The Lexington Ledger. In 2018, a 77-year-old man was shot at a Gun & Knife Show at the same venue, a shooting that The State reported was separate from an ammunition and weapons theft that occurred at the event.
ColaDaily, which reported the witness accounts of Saturday's shooting, said the story would be updated as more information becomes available. No official confirmation has been issued regarding the deputy's identity, the extent of the injury, or how the shooting unfolded.
