COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
Richland County deputies are working with Aiken County
investigators to determine if there is a connection between Thursday's gun
store robbery attempt and one in Richland County that happened in April.
TT and H Firearms on Garners Ferry Road was robbed during
the early morning hours of April 23 when suspects rammed a truck through the
doors of the store. Investigators say they took approximately 30 guns,
including rifles and pistols. No one was arrested in connection with that
incident.
A similar incident happened early Thursday morning when three
men rammed a truck through the doors of Guns and Ammo Gunsmith in North
Augusta. Investigators from the Aiken County Sheriff's Office
say a Midlands man was shot to death by the store owner during the attempted
robbery.
According to an incident report, the owner of the store, who
was living in the rear of the building, heard a loud crash around 4 a.m. When
he came out, according to the report, one of the suspects said "Kill the
(expletive)". The owner of the store then fired his AR-15 several
times hitting all three suspects, according to the report.
Twenty-year-old K'Raven Aude Goodwin of Eastover died at the
hospital as a result of the gunshot wounds. Two others, 20-year-old Eddie
Stewart of Columbia and 17-year-old Franklin Robinson of Gadsden suffered
gunshot wounds and drove to a nearby Waffle House after the incident. Both Stewart and Robinson were taken into custody by the Aiken County Sheriff's
Office.
Richland County Sheriff's Department spokesman Curtis Wilson says their deputies are aggressively
investigating to see if there is a connection between the two incidents. He says they are still looking
for information from anyone who might know something about the incident at TT
and H.
Meanwhile, deputies in Sumter are also trying to determine
who committed a similar crime at a gun store in their county about two weeks
ago. This incident happened at Tony's Guns when thieves rammed a stolen
truck through the glass doors and stole weapons. Capt. Allen Dailey
from the Sumter County Sheriff's Department says they recovered the stolen
truck from that incident but they are still trying to identify the
suspects.
He says their investigators will also be talking with
officials from Aiken County to determine if there is a connection.
If you know anything about either of the incidents you are
asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIMESC.
Copyright 2012 WIS. All rights reserved.
Aiken County Sheriff's Office investigators say the three men intentionally drove a truck into the Guns and Ammo Gunsmith in North Augusta around 4 a.m.
