Beloved Richland One High School Senior/ Student Athlete Killed In Shooting

The A.C. Flora High School community is mourning the loss of a beloved senior who died in a shooting Thursday evening.

“Carlisle Kelly, an IB Senior student who played soccer, ultimate frisbee and ran cross country was killed last night,” A.C. Flora Principal Susan Childs stated in an email. “This tragic news is impacting his very large circle of Flora friends and the Flora community as a whole.”

According to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the 18-year-old student was found dead in a vehicle parked on Frasier Street, which is off Bluff Road in Columbia, South Carolina, around 6 p.m. Thursday after police were called in reference to a suspicious vehicle.

The vehicle had several bullet holes in the driver’s side, according to police.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the shooting.

Investigators believe the shooting was an isolated incident and said there isn’t a threat to a community.

No suspects have been named in the shooting.

The Columbia area has seen a disturbing uptick in gun violence recently, according to law enforcement leaders.

Earlier this month, three people died in Richland County shootings within 24 hours, WLTX reported. 

Sheriff Leon Lott said on May 11 that Richland county has already seen more murders this year than it did in all of 2020.

Both A.C. Flora and Richland County School District One will have support available for students both in person and virtually, Childs said.

“Please keep the Kelly family in your thoughts and prayers,” Childs said.

Kelly was just weeks away from graduation. A.C. Flora seniors are set to graduate on June 14.

A.C. Flora is a top Richland One high school located in Forest Acres, South Carolina, just outside of Columbia.

If you have information on the deadly shooting, submit a tip to SC crimestoppers.

This story will be updated.

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