Man charged with murder after police say 2 killed in drug deal at South Carolina State University
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A man has been charged with murder after taking part in a marijuana deal that ended with a shooting that killed two people and hurt another inside a dorm room at South Carolina State University, police said.
Khamanti Lytrel Kennedy, 18, ran from the dorm room after the Thursday night shooting at the Hugine Suites housing complex, according to an arrest warrant filed by the State Law Enforcement Division.
Kennedy, who is not a student at the university, was out on bond after a September arrest for having a gun on campus, according to court records.
Henry L. Crittington, 19, and Terrell Thomas, 18, died in the shooting. They were not South Carolina State University students. The name and condition of the man who was wounded has not been released. He was a student, officials said.
Kennedy arrived at the university with three other people in a car Thursday night. The men got something out of their vehicle and the shooting happened during a drug deal over marijuana in the dorm room, according to the arrest warrant.
The warrant did not identify who fired weapons.
It was the second fatal shooting on campus in a little over four months. A 19-year-old woman died in gunfire near the same residential complex during Oct. 4 homecoming celebrations. Several people were arrested on gun-related charges.
Campus officials said new security measures put in place after that shooting, including additional surveillance cameras, helped identify Kennedy as a suspect.
Kennedy was arraigned Tuesday in court in Orangeburg County and denied bond. He answered questions from the judge and did not appear to have a lawyer present, according to The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg.
The university said it put more security measures in place after the latest shooting. Visitors can only be on campus from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and have to go through security screening. Students have their own gate to enter campus and must have their IDs.
The school is also asking lawmakers for $8 million for more security upgrades, a new police station on campus and additional officers.
South Carolina State University, founded in 1896, is the state’s only public historically Black university and has more than 2,900 students, according to its website.
The university community recently marked the 58th anniversary of what has come to be called the Orangeburg Massacre: the killing of three young men on Feb. 8, 1968, when officers shot at a crowd of Black students who rallied on campus after demonstrating against segregation at a bowling alley.
