8 hours ago
Two teens arrested, manhunt continues for 15-year-old following Elmwood shooting
Two teenagers have been arrested while a 15-year-old remains on the run following a chaotic shooting that left the inside of a Columbia Airbnb looking like a 'warzone' Friday morning, according to police.
Jayden Cavon Brackins, 18, was killed after being shot multiple times inside of the short-term rental at 2408 Lincoln St. in Columbia's downtown Elmwood Park neighborhood. Three other teens, two females both aged 18 and one 17-year-old male, were also shot and remain hospitalized in stable condition, Columbia Police Chief William H. 'Skip' Holbrook said at a press conference Sunday afternoon.
On Friday night, police arrested a 15-year-old, whose name was not released to the media. In the early morning hours of Saturday, police also arrested Latrell Daniel Dominique Hughey, 18. The two have been charged with murder, armed robbery, three counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, criminal conspiracy and possession of a firearm by a person under the age of 18.
Hughey is being held without bond at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center while the 15-year-old is in the custody of the state Department of Juvenile Justice.
An active search is underway for another, unidentified 15-year-old male who has been charged with the same crimes.
While a search for motive is ongoing, Holbrook said that investigators believe the victims and the alleged shooters were 'acquainted.'
The scene when officers arrived shortly after 5 a.m. Friday was extremely chaotic, said Holbrook. Screams could be heard from outside the house. Smoke and the smell of gunpowder hung the air where four people were shot.
Only blocks away, Columbia Police Department officers on patrol responded to what was first reported as a car break-in. The call was almost immediately upgraded to a person shot. On hearing the screams, Holbrook said the officers broke down the door and rushed to apply tourniquets to the wounded.
Roughly 30 spent shell casings from multiple guns, including an assault-style rifle, were found inside of the home where the damage was 'indescribable,' Holbrook said.
Police declined to provide any additional information about the caliber of bullets or the type of weapon or weapons that fired the fatal shots.
The shooting inside of an Airbnb has shaken the quiet downtown community, which has long been divided over short-term rentals.
The motive for the shooting, why the large group was at the Airbnb or even who rented the property remains under investigation, according to police. While the three wounded teens are from Columbia, Brackins was reportedly in town to visit his aunt.
While Brackins attended high school in Columbia, it is unknown whether he still resides here, said Deputy Chief Melron Kelly.
Holbrook said that the owner of the Airbnb located at 2408 Lincoln St, Cornerstone Properties, has been cooperative in the investigation. However, the police department has issued a notice that it intends to have the house declared a 'nuisance property' wich can lead to fines or penalties from the city.
The State was unable to reach Cornerstone Properties on Sunday afternoon.
On Friday, residents of Elmwood were split on what blame the Airbnb shouldered in the chaos. John Wilkinson, president of the Elmwood Park neighborhood association, described Airbnbs as 'killing our community, literally.'
A search of Airbnb found more than 25 rentals available in Elmwood and the adjoining Earlewood neighborhood. Both neighborhoods are almost entirely residential, primarily made up of single-family homes or small apartments. Controversy over Airbnb has swirled in the city of Columbia and Richland County over the past several years. The city came close to banning Airbnbs in 2022, instead opting to require short-term rentals be licensed by the city.
Elmwood resident and state Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, said that such a shooting could have 'happened anywhere.' Instead, the real problem lay with a failure to address youth gun violence in Columbia, Rutherford said.
