Authorities in South Carolina say a man is charged with murder after a woman was shot and killed inside her home while five children were present.
According to the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a home on West 3rd Street in Kershaw, South Carolina, for a report of shots fired late Sunday morning.
The person who called 911 lives on the same street and said that four children ran to the caller’s home and said their father shot their mother, authorities said.
When deputies arrived, 41-year-old Hurley D. Braddy Jr. walked out of the front door of his home and was taken into custody, according to the sheriff’s office.
A deputy went into the home and found a 1-year-old child sitting in a highchair in the kitchen, authorities said. The infant was not hurt.
The deputy then found a 34-year-old woman, Christy Rozier, on the floor in a bedroom with gunshot wounds. EMS rendered aid and then pronounced Rozier dead, according to law enforcement.
Investigators said they found a handgun during a search of the home. They added that the five children, ranging in age from 1 to 16, were all inside the residence when the shooting occurred, and none of them were injured.
A sheriff’s office victim advocate responded to the scene and assisted the neighbor in caring for the children while arrangements were made, a news release stated. Relatives arrived later in the day to take custody of all five of them.
Braddy was transported to the sheriff’s office and later to the Lancaster County Detention Center. He was charged with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, authorities said. Bond was denied.
Investigators are unsure about the motive for the crime.
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