Freddie Grant person of interest in 2011 shooting death - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina

The man accused of kidnapping a 15-year-old Columbia girl is also considered a person of interest in an October, 2011 fatal shooting in Lugoff.

Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews tells WIS News 10 that investigators are looking into whether 52-year-old Freddie Grant was involved in the fatal shooting of Daniel Lee Wood.

Wood was found shot to death outside a home on Trinity School Road in Lugoff.

Investigators believe the shooting was the result of an argument between Wood and the shooter.

Matthews says as investigators began looking into the disappearance of Gabbie Swainson they came across some coincidences between her case and the shooting. 

"The man who was shot and killed, his address is across the street from Freddie Grant's," said Matthews. "He wasn't shot there, he was shot some place else, so we feel like they knew each other.  And that is really all I'm prepared to talk about right now."

The sheriff could not elaborate on those details. But Matthews did say the collaboration between the agencies involved in finding Gabbiee Swainson has been a key to developing new leads.

Matthews said another person identified shortly after the shooting is also a person of interest. He added that it is a long shot that Grant is connected to Wood's death but one that his agents have to look into.

He stressed that law enforcement's focus right now is finding Gabbiee Swainson.

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