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Deputies with the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) have arrested and charged an 18-year-old following a gas station shooting on Tuesday evening (August 27, 2024) in Cross Hill, South Carolina.
At approximately 8:00 p.m. EDT on that date, LCSO deputies responded to reports of shots being fired at a Citgo station located at Highway 72 and North Main Street just inside the city limits of Cross Hill – which is located approximately 60 miles west-northwest of Columbia.
Upon arrival, they encountered and arrested Jay Ariel Taylor, of Laurens, S.C.
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Once arrested, Taylor was charged with attempted murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied building, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, aggravated breach of peace, armed robbery and a concealable weapons offense.
Taylor also stands accused in a separate shooting that took place the day before this incident (August 26, 2024) – at a residence in Joanna, S.C. He has been charged with four counts of attempted murder, aggravated breach of peace, discharging a firearm into a dwelling, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and malicious injury to real and personal property in connection with that shooting.
“The actions exhibited by this individual is of a thug who had the dangerous potential to murder someone with his reckless actions,” sheriff Don Reynolds said in a statement. “It is my hope that the court system will give him plenty of time to think about his actions.”
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Taylor is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as he may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against him.
As of this writing, he remains incarcerated at the Laurens County detention center. His case will be prosecuted by the office of S.C. eighth circuit solicitor David Stumbo.
Of interest? Taylor was known to deputies prior to the shootings. He was reported missing on February 1, 2024 as a suspected “runaway,” per an LCSO Facebook post. According to that post, he was “located safe” on February 5, 2024.
Count on this media outlet to share any pertinent updates related to this case with our audience…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from J. L. Mann High School in 2021. She is currently a rising senior at the University of South Carolina majoring in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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