CALHOUN COUNTY, S.C. — A teen in Calhoun County is in custody and charged with murder after allegedly eating a drug-laced candy and shooting two people, authorities say.
The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to an Elloree address in the 300 block of Cardinal Road on Friday. The sheriff’s office said deputies found two people who had been shot, one of whom was dead. Authorities said the other person was flown to Prisma Health Richland Hospital in Columbia.
Further investigation led deputies to another person and his 16-year-old son. Investigators learned that the teen had allegedly consumed a marijuana-laced gummy, began “feeling hot,” and began to panic.
“When he entered the kitchen, he observed two individuals ‘wearing white masks,'” the sheriff’s office said. “He stated he went to his father’s bedroom and retrieved a shotgun, cocked it, and returned to the kitchen.”
The sheriff’s office said he then shot one of the victims and shot at the other, who was already running away.
However, the sheriff said on Saturday that the victims were not actually masked and that the shooter knew both of them and had previously been socializing with them. The sheriff added that the deceased victim was a neighbor of the suspect.
Investigators are currently looking into the possibility that the marijuana gummy was laced with a hallucinogen that exacerbated the incident.
Authorities have not released the name of the shooter due to his age but said he will be charged with murder, attempted murder, and possession of a weapon during a violent offense.
