A small community in Upstate South Carolina was shocked on Wednesday night to learn that two adults and a small child were shot just hours before Thanksgiving.
Police in Seneca, South Carolina, said gunshots rang out in the Greenfield Apartment complex along Fairfield Drive around 6 p.m. on Nov. 27. The town of roughly 10,000 people is about 115 miles north of Atlanta just up Interstate 85 across the state line.
Seneca Police Chief Casey Bowling said his officers found two adults and a small child who all had been shot outside an apartment. Three medical helicopters were requested, and the gunshot victims were flown to area hospitals.
Chief Bowling said while on scene investigating the shooting, detectives quickly identified the suspect as 20-year-old Emmanuel Williams. His information was entered into a national database as a wanted suspect tied to the triple shooting.
Within two hours, Chief Bowling said, their suspect was spotted in Gwinnett County. Sources tell 11Alive that Gwinnett County Police initiated a traffic stop, but when Williams refused to stop, a pursuit was initiated.
A Georgia Department of Transportation camera showed the end of the pursuit near the intersection of Sugarloaf Parkway and Highway 120 around 8 p.m. on Wednesday night.
11Alive contacted Gwinnett County Police for more information on the pursuit but has not responded.
On Thursday evening, a family member of the victims said all three are still hospitalized and are in stable condition. The family member said while their injuries are severe, all three are expected to survive.
Williams is facing a slew of charges, including felonies, from both Seneca Police in South Carolina and Gwinnett County Police in Georgia. The charges are as follows:
South Carolina charges:
- Attempted Murder x 3
Georgia charges:
- Fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer
- Improper lane change
- Seat Belt required
- Willful obstruction of law enforcement officers
- Reckless Driving
- Driving while license is suspended or revoked
- Speeding
- Failure to obey a traffic control device
- Improper left turn
- Driving on a divided highway
- Following too closely
He remains locked up in the Gwinnett County jail. He will eventually be extradited back to South Carolina and officially served with three Attempted Murder warrants.