MORNING NEWSBREAK | North Charleston police Thursday morning responded to a call of shots fired in the Whitfield on the Ashley neighborhood only to discover a public works garbage truck that crashed into a tree on Dorchester Road.
The driver later was pronounced dead at a local hospital, North Charleston police spokesman Harve Jacobs said today.
Investigators believe the driver was collecting garbage on Bayfield drive when shots were fired that struck the side of the truck and the driver. The victim then presumably tried to leave the scene but eventually crashed.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. The name of the victim has not been released. Investigators believe the shooting was an isolated incident and not random, Jacobs said.
In related gun violence news, South Carolina has logged 26 officer-involved shootings so far this year, with North Charleston police having recorded three. That’s an increase in South Carolina from 22 at this time last year. North Charleston had one for all of 2023.
The most recent such shooting was at a West Ashley apartment complex this Tuesday, during which Harper Lawrence-Weiland, 21, of Charleston, broke into an apartment and stole clothes and a handgun, which he shot in the parking lot, attracting police attention. Responding officers wounded Lawrence-Weiland, who was treated at the scene.
According to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which often investigates officer-involved shootings in the state, 15 people have died during officer-involved shootings this year.
In City Paper news today:
CP News: Project 2025: What is it, and why does it matter? To understand the debate surrounding Project 2025 – a controversial conservative federal governing blueprint prepared by the Heritage Foundation and its ideological allies, such as South Carolina’s Palmetto Promise Institute — it helps to remember there are two great political contests in America every four years.
CP News: The iconic sweetgrass basket celebrates art, history, culture. The 20th-annual Sweetgrass Festival in Mount Pleasant is the perfect place to better understand the multi-generational artistry, history and heart behind the region’s signature craft
CP Food: Curb your Caribbean cravings at these Charleston spots. Each year, the city sees events like Carifest, the founder of which, Lorna Shelton Beck, was honored by the Institute of Caribbean Studies in Washington D.C. last year, and Charleston Caribbean Jerk Festival, which takes place on July 20 at Riverfront Park.
CP Arts: LandonTalks serves Southern stand-up at Wit’s End. This weekend, July 21, Wit’s End added a second show after the first sold out for the Southern storytelling comic, Landon Bryant, known to nearly-half a million Instagram followers as @landontalks.
CP Opinion: Reduce gun violence to make U.S. safer. “So what’s it going to take for serious, bipartisan and real action on reducing gun violence in America, a nation that has more guns than people?”
- Stegelin: New shirts!
- Ariail: No girls Allowed!
In other recent headlines:
Dorchester County website for deeds, loans, more has been down for days. A server crash has disabled part of the official website where Dorchester County deeds, mortgages, liens and other critical real estate transactions are posted, preventing online access to all newly recorded documents.
Charleston road tax could help fix notorious Mount Pleasant road. Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant has experienced flooding for years whenever there’s a heavy rain or high tides. Charleston County has a chance to fix it if the transportation sales tax passes in November.
Can studying old hurricanes help Charleston prepare for stormy future? As Charleston confronts a future of climate change-fueled storms, the growing field of paleotempestology (the study of past storms along with historical records) is looking to build a better understanding of hurricane activity across millennia.
Ruling change paves way for second Johns Island hotel. With the opening of the first hotel on Johns Island only weeks away, another may soon be on the way.
Citadel Board approves tuition increase for out-of-state cadets. Some incoming cadets will have to pay more to attend The Citadel during the 2024-2025 year.
Medicaid expansion could cover 360,000 more people in S.C., report says. Expanding Medicaid eligibility would give 360,000 additional South Carolinians full health insurance coverage in its first year while costing the state more than $250 million, according to a report released Thursday.
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