Westminster teenager dead after Walhalla shooting

WALHALLA — A Westminster teenager died and another teenager was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a Thursday shooting incident.

A 15-year-old boy from Westminster died Thursday around 12:25 p.m. in the intensive care unit of Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital, according to a news release from Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis.

Addis said the teenager arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound, and an autopsy would be ordered to help with the investigation. The coroner said he would release the victim’s name today.

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said in a Thursday news release the E-911/Communications Center received a call around 8:30 a.m. Thursday for shooting incident at a residence on Sherwood Lane near Highlands Highway in Walhalla. Early reports said the victim was shot in the head by another teenager.

Investigation showed that a 15-year-old boy took a firearm from underneath a pillow in his room, the release said, and while handling the firearm, “the firearm discharged and struck the victim.”

Though investigators believe the shooting was an accident, the release said, the 15-year-old was “negligent in his handling of the firearm.”

The sheriff’s office detained the 15-year-old and charged him with involuntary manslaughter, according to the release.

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation.

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