Four busted in South Carolina shooting that killed 14-year-old girl

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Four suspected gang members were arrested Thursday in connection with a mass shooting at an illegal South Carolina party last month that left a 14-year-old girl dead and more than a dozen others wounded.

North Charleston police and US Marshals rounded up the suspects Thursday and charged them with manslaughter and gun possession in the May 22 attack that killed Ronjanae Smith in the city’s north end, WCSC-TV reported.

The gathering, which authorities described as an “unauthorized party,” turned deadly when a dispute between rival gangs erupted in violence, police said.

“They were so worried about themselves,” North Charleston Deputy Police Chief Ken Hagge said at a briefing Thursday.

“They don’t know how to conduct themselves out in public, that’s fine,” Hagge said. “They need to stay home, but we’re going to keep them home now.”

Ronjanae Smith was 14 at the time of her death. Facebook
Rival gangs at the party started the shooting, according to police. Facebook

Cops said members of the two rival gangs saw each other at the event and opened fire, killing the 14-year-old girl in the crossfire and wounding 14 others.

All four alleged gangbangers — Malachi Wigfall, 18; Tye Robinson, 18; Tyquan Denard Cooper, 21; and Manqual Laval Horlbeck — were taken into custody over the course of the day on Thursday, police said.

Hagge said police interviewed hundreds of witnesses and reviewed cellphone footage from the scene — and said more arrests are expected.

Ronjanae Smith was killed at the party last month. Facebook
Police said they expect more arrests to come in connection with the shooting. Facebook

“I’m not going to say how many, but there’s going to be more held accountable for this.”

He said nine of the wounded victims were young women.

“Manslaughter is murder, folks,” the deputy chief told reporters. “We can only use the tools we have in our toolbox, and we can only charge what we can prove. Manslaughter is where we feel comfortable coming forward today on those charges.”

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