The Associated Press
NORTH AUGUSTA, South Carolina- One person was killed and two others severely injured after a man went on a shooting spree with an assault-style weapon in the parking lots of three restaurants along an interstate.
William Levon Powell, Jr., 61, died of a single gunshot wound to his head after a gunman opened fire on him and another man while they exited their cars at the Huddle House restaurant early Tuesday morning, The AIken Standard reported in a story for Wednesday’s editions.
Police said Powell was shot in the face.
Authorities described the shooter as a thin, white man in his 20s.
“Everything we can see about this crime at this point is that it is totally random which makes this individual extremely dangerous,” said North Augusta Public Safety Director Lee Wetherington.
A man and a woman were also shot, and another woman was carjacked at gunpoint.
Constance Black Davidson, 59, said she was at a nearby Burger King drive-thru at about 6 a.m. when a man attempted to car-jack her at gunpoint. She drove away and the gunman fired several shots at her car, wounding her in the upper back. She was listed in stable condition.
Minutes later, the gunman ran across to the Huddle House parking lot and gunned down two men exiting their cars, including Powell.
Powell died at the scene while Earl Carter, an area minister, was shot in the neck.
Authorities said the gunman attempted to steal one of the vehicles, but was unsuccessful. He then ran to the restaurant of a neighboring Bojangles parking lot and carjacked Ida Mae Heath at gunpoint.
Heath’s car was recovered later in the day at a hotel with the engine still warm.