Search for four armed & dangerous men after South Carolina man was killed, sheriff says

A South Carolina man was killed Wednesday and a search is underway for four “armed and dangerous men” involved in the shooting, according to the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office .

James L. Wright Jr., a 27-year-old North Augusta resident, died at the scene, Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables said. Wright was shot at least one time, and an autopsy will be performed in Newberry, according to Ables.

Witnesses found Wright’s body on the ground between two buildings on Edgefield Road in North Augusta, according to the sheriff’s office.

At about 3:15 p.m., deputies responded to a call about a shooting where the caller said they heard gunfire while inside a store, the sheriff’s office said.

Aiken County EMS also responded, and declared Wright dead about 30 minutes later, officials said.

No other injuries were reported.

There was no word on a shooter, or shooters, or a motive for the gunfire, but the sheriff’s office said surveillance footage shows at least four men were involved in the shooting.

The unidentified men were in a light colored Infiniti SUV that turned into a parking lot on Edgefield Road, and were seen exiting the vehicle armed with guns, according to the sheriff’s office. They shot Wright and were then were seen getting back into the Infiniti, which turned left and drove on Edgefield Road toward Interstate 20, the sheriff’s office said.

These men should be considered armed and dangerous, according to the sheriff’s office.

No arrests have been reported by the sheriff’s office, which continues to investigate the shooting, along with the coroner’s office and the North Augusta Department of Public Safety .

Anyone with information about the shooting, or those involved, is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 803-648-6811, CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, or submit a tip online.

In the case of an emergency, always call 911.

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