No deaths, fortunately. Anyone want to guess why it didn’t make the national news? And no, not just because he’s black.
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It looked like a warzone’ say employees who saw alleged active shooter leave Sumter business
WIS News 10 Staff
SUMTER, S.C. (WIS) - Officials with the Sumter Police Department have arrested 25-year-old Ozzy Mooneyham following a shooting that injured four people Monday morning.
The shooting began at Chestnut Pointe Apartments around 7:30 Monday morning and continued at Palmetto Tire and Auto before Sumter County deputies conducted a traffic stop and arrested Mooneyham. Chief Russel Roark called the incident an “active shooter situation” and said it was was not gang-related. according to Sumter Police Chief Russell Roark.
Calls to 911 came in from the Chestnut Pointe Apartments, alleging someone was shooting randomly at people. Later, police learned one woman was allegedly shot by Mooneyham and drove herself to the hospital.
While at the apartments, Mooneyham also fired at an off-duty Sumter County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was standing in the balcony of his building.
Then, police said around 7:45 a.m. Mooneyham arrived at Palmetto Tire and Auto, shooting three employees standing behind the counter with a .22 caliber rifle.
Officials said the three victims -- two men and a woman -- were transported to the hospital. The conditions of the victims are currently unknown, but the police chief said he expects them to survive.
“The individuals and victims in this particular case were merely targets of opportunity for an individual determined to create chaos and cause harm to innocent people in our community,” said Roark. “There is no other way to describe this than an active shooter situation.”
Michael Lucente was working on a car in the driveway of the business when Mooneyham walked in.
“I was under the hood of a vehicle over there with the service manager and we heard pop, pop, pop, pop…it sounded like fire crackers going off,” he said. “When he walked out we saw him and we saw the AK in his hand and we put two and two together. When he got in the car, he stared right at the service manager right in his eyes and I suspect he was out of ammunition because if he wasn’t, he probably would have shot him too.”
Shortly thereafter, Josh Robinson, a mechanic at the shop, came back from test driving a vehicle.
“My manager kept yelling at me to chase this car, I kind of figured he might have walked out on a bill or stole a car or something,” said Robinson. “I chased him all the way to Pike Road where he pulled into a mattress store that was closed, I blocked him in, I knocked on his window and he rolled it down with a rifle pointed at me and I asked him if he’d just been at Palmetto Auto and Tire and he said yes and rolled the window back up.”
Robinson said Mooneyham then sideswiped his car and escaped the parking lot. Robinson continued to follow him, before getting the attention of passing deputies.
“I didn’t know what had happened to my coworkers but even if I had, I still would have chased him because it’s the right thing to do,” Robinson said.
Roark said a pair of Sumter County deputies were able to track down Mooneyham during a traffic stop at the intersection of Miller Road and Broad Street. Mooneyham was taken into custody the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office following the traffic stop and later turned over to the Sumter Police Department.
Once he was in custody, weapons were taken from Mooneyham’s vehicle by officials, including a .22-caliber rifle with an extended magazine. Officials believe the rifle was the weapon Mooneyham used during the shootings.
Mooneyham has also been charged with two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime and two points of pointing and presenting a firearm. Roark said more charges could follow for Mooneyham.
Officials believe Mooneyham acted alone in these shootings. However, the Sumter Police Department is continuing to investigate this shooting.
Chief Roark said the department has not had previous run-ins with Mooneyham, who previously identified as a female by the name of Mindy.
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