South Carolina Shooting Ends With Six Dead, Police Suspect Murder-Suicide


Six people were shot dead in a South Carolina home on Wednesday after a man called police to say he was thinking about hurting himself.

Authorities believe that the victims were involved in a domestic dispute, which resulted in a murder-suicide, perpetrated by 27-year-old Bryan Sweatt.

Fox News reports that Sweatt dated one of the women who was killed and had a child with her. The shooting victims included the woman, her parents, and two children.

Greenwood County Sheriff identified the victims during a press conference as Richard Allen Fields, 51, Melissa Maroney Fields, 49, Chandra Marie Fields, 26, Tarik Kenyon Robinson, 11, and William Asa Robinson, 9.

Sweatt and the woman were apparently in a custody dispute over their infant, and Davis believes the shooter broke into the home and waited for the victims to return.

Officers responded to the home after they received a call from Sweatt. While police were on their way, one of the man’s neighbors called 911 to report that a shot was fired and two children from that address ran to his home.

Reuters notes that one of the children was a seven-month-old who is believed to be Sweatt’s child with Fields. Officers attempted to make contact with someone in the home for about an hour, but the SWAT team eventually entered after “several unsuccessful attempts” by police.

Sweatt was scheduled to be in court on the day of the shooting, but failed to appear. He was arrested for burglary earlier this year. Wednesday’s incident wasn’t the first time police were called to the home over a domestic dispute. While he had a criminal record, Sweatt was never arrested for violence.

[Image via ShutterStock]

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