Authorities probe slayings and shootings in county
By Bobby Bryant Editor
Two fatal shootings in Darlington County over a three-day period have been followed by the suicide or attempted suicide of possible suspects in those cases. On Jan. 7, 22-year-old Shanice Williams was shot as she was leaving her job at Oakhaven Nursing Center on Oak Street in Darlington. Her obituary says she worked at Oakhaven as a certified nurse assistant. Oakhaven released a statement to local news media after the incident: “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our team members are our family and yesterday’s events are devastating. On behalf of Wilson Senior Care, we ask that you join us in prayer for the families and friends of the victim.” Williams’ funeral services were handled by Bacote-Eaddy Funeral Home of Timmonsville. The obituary posted on the funeral home’s website says Williams attended Lamar High School and says her survivors include a daughter, Lavia, and her parents, Joyce Lyde and Lemuel Williams. Darlington Police Chief Kelvin Washington said authorities quickly identified a man he described as Williams’ ex-boyfriend as a person of interest in the case. The man was located at a residence in Florence County. Mike Nunn, spokesman for the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, said that Florence County deputies were sent to assist U.S. Marshals in making contact with the man, whose name was not released. Nunn said it appears the man committed suicide as deputies arrived, although details are not clear. Nunn said the State Law Enforcement Division was investigating the man’s death. In the second slaying, on Jan. 10, one person was killed and another wounded in an incident on Forest Drive north of the city of Darlington. Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee identified the slain man as Bradley Shake, 26, no address given. Services for Shake were being handled by Kistler-Hardee Funeral Home. Darlington County Sheriff James Hudson said the case appears to be a murder-suicide – someone shot Shake, then turned the gun on himself. That suspect was hospitalized and as of last week, officers had not been able to interview him, Hudson said. The sheriff said the suspect was on a ventilator. Hudson said it appeared that Shake and the suspect knew each other. The Darlington Police Department was investigating an apparently non-fatal shooting Jan. 12 near the 1100 block of South Main Street, local news media reported. By the next day, the department had a suspect in custody, Washington said, but the suspect’s name had not been released. And the Sheriff’s Office was investigating a non-fatal shooting that also took place Jan. 12. A Darlington County woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries when she was shot in the back at a mobile-home park on Fleet Drive off Ebenezer Road. Hudson said the woman was in stable condition. He said investigators had a “person of interest” in the case, and said the shooting appeared to stem from a domestic dispute. If you have information about the case, call the Sheriff’s Office at 843-398-4501.
