Friday Shootings Keep LEOs Busy

Bullets on the ground

Man reported injured.

City and county law enforcement were kept hopping Friday with multiple shootings. 

It is not known if any of the incidents are related.

The sheriff’s office was called to Grand Strand Hospital Friday after James Arlon Lanier, 47, was found in Loris with a gunshot wound. The investigation showed Lanier was in his vehicle at the intersection of Green Acres Drive and Swamp Fox Highway East when he was shot. The report did not give additional details on why he was assaulted. Deputies were contacted just after 8 p.m.

In another shooting incident, Lafayette L. Smith told deputies he and another man were arguing in a vehicle when near Bird Cage Estates just before 11 p.m. Smith exited the vehicle at Bird Cage and Old 74, the report said. Another vehicle stopped, and two individuals who got out of that car opened fire on Smith, the report said. He was not injured.

Whiteville Police are also investigating a shooting that occurred Friday afternoon on West Virgil Street.

Reports show that WPD was called to 417 E. Virgil Street at 5:28 p.m. to a report of shots fired in the city. Jalen Shipman, 20; Shannon Denise McMillian, 45; and Shaquetta Janiece Powell, 34, were at the home when someone opened fire on the property, causing around 4400 in damages. The report indicated that at least one person was injured in the attack.

The sheriff’s office also reported that two different homeowners found bullet holes in their properties over the weekend.

J.B. Cartrette called CCSO after finding a hole in his porch, and two more in his home on C.O. Moss Lane, east of Whiteville. Damages were estimated at $2,000. Kenneth Little told deputies he discovered bulletholes in a camper at 130 Sand Hill Dr., Whiteville. The camper has been parked on the property since 2022, the report said. It had sustained damage inside.

About Jefferson Weaver 1959 Articles
Jefferson Weaver is the Managing Editor of Columbus County News and he can be reached at (910) 914-6056, (910) 632-4965, or by email at [email protected].