Man charged in triple slaying

WALTERBORO -- A 19-year-old man charged in a drive-by shooting that killed a toddler and two others was awaiting trial in a separate gun attack at the time of Monday's slayings.

Danziel Chapman of Walterboro was being held on a murder charge Wednesday at the Colleton County Detention Center. At the time of his arrest, Chapman already had pending charges from a November shooting on Hampton Street.

In that attack, he and another man were accused of firing several shots at two men in a car in a daylight confrontation, according to a police report.

The State Law Enforcement Division and the Walterboro Police Department declined to comment about Chapman's arrest in Monday's shooting, or whether more arrests are expected.

Also, two more people were shot Wednesday night just blocks from the site where three people were killed and six more were injured on Monday night. Both men were transported to Medical University hospital.

Authorities said one of the men was shot five times, and the second man's injuries were less serious. No information was available on the current condition of the men.

At least one of the shootings happened on Cleveland Street, near where family members of Monday night's victims have been staying since the shooting. Colleton County Sheriff's investigators were on the scene last night but were able to offer few details.

Investigators also would not confirm reports that they are examining a car found burning Tuesday in Ritter for possible ties to the shooting that occurred Monday night.

Colleton County sheriff's deputies reportedly made the find in the rural community, which is about eight miles from Walterboro. The Sheriff's Office referred all questions about the car to SLED.

Three people, including 20-month-old Shaniyah Burden, were killed Monday night around 10 during a drive-by shooting at a home at the corner of Gerideau and McDaniel streets.

Six people were wounded in the barrage, which occurred while some 20 people were gathered at the home to play cards, grill food and watch football.

Multiple witnesses and victims said police told them that an AK-47 was used in the shooting, though authorities will neither confirm nor deny whether that gun or any other military-style rifle was involved.

Many residents on Gerideau Street said they think that a violence-prone gang from Sand Hill is behind the shooting. Authorities won't comment on that possibility.

Allen Fair, 18, was among those shot Monday night. Doctors told him he has a large bullet stuck in the bone of his right leg. Fair said 7.62 mm shell casings littered the area after the shooting, and that police told him that an AK-47 was involved.

He and others described a heavy, rapid-fire barrage of bullets.

Fair said he was outside with a bunch of people that night when he saw a pair of headlights sweep toward the house. He could not make out what type of car it was or who was inside, he said.

Before anyone could react, gunfire erupted from the car, spraying the yard with bullets.

Though his wound hurt badly, Fair said he knew others had more serious injuries. He waited to get into an ambulance until the more severely wounded could be treated, he said.

Charles "Bubba Dog" Kittrell, 45, died at the scene. His nephew, 21-year-old Christopher Powell, died at Colleton Medical Center.

Shaniyah's mother, Aleshia, survived being shot in her arm, leg and back while trying to shield the baby from the bullets. Still, a bullet hit the toddler in the head.

Family members said Aleshia underwent surgery to remove a bullet from her back. Only her immediate family could visit her, as she was under police protection at the hospital, they said.

The family received good news Wednesday when they heard that Rashon O'Neal Dantzler is going to pull through. Dantzler was taken to a Richland County hospital in critical condition. Relative Ella Adams said Dantzler lost an eye as a result of the shooting but is expected to survive.

Walterboro police released an incident report that identified the other shooting victims. They are Khalil June Falks, Arnold Benard Ellison and Terrance White. No ages or addresses were available, and the extent of their injuries was not known.

Family, friends and neighbors continued to drop by the house Wednesday to leave cards, flowers and other gifts at a makeshift memorial filled with teddy bears and balloons. Nearby, candles and framed poems sat on the hood of a car in the yard, offering odes to the dead.

One, titled "Baby Girl," read: "Sweet as a sugar plum, soft as a dove. A bundle from heaven, to pamper and to love."

Jayna Adams, Shaniyah's cousin, stared silently at the stuffed animals as rain pattered on an awning set up to save the memorial from the day's downpours. She had just seen Shaniyah, whom the family nicknamed "Munch" because of her love for food. Now she was gone.

"She was just a little baby," said Jayna, 17. "She didn't do nothing to nobody."

A few blocks away, relatives gathered at Ella Adams' home, consoling one another and awaiting updates on the wounded.

Ella Adams couldn't stop thinking about Monday. She had been watching Shaniyah earlier in the day, and she could only wonder if the girl might still be alive if she had taken her home with her that night.

Adams shook her head slowly. "There are so many ifs. …"

She and other family members had heard of Chapman's arrest, but they had few details. Adams was unfamiliar with his name.

More details may emerge today when Chapman makes his first appearance in court.

Adams said she hopes that someone will come forward to help investigators arrest all of those responsible for the shooting and bring her family some closure. "This just cannot go unpunished," she said.