In the quiet evening of October 6, 2019, the life of 33-year-old Willie James Simmons Jr. was tragically cut short in his Aiken, South Carolina home. It was late when the sound of gunfire shattered the peace, startling other occupants of the residence awake. Responding deputies from the Aiken County Sheriff's Office arrived at the house located in the 3100 block of Silver Bluff Road to a grim scene.
Just inside the front door, they found Willie Simmons Jr., a male, bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound to his chest.
Emergency medical services were called to the scene to render aid, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he succumbed to his wounds at his home. Witnesses provided a harrowing, albeit brief, description of the events they had seen. One person reported seeing an individual standing next to a car at the edge of the road, firing a rifle directly at the house. The bullets tore through the side of the home, with at least one fatally striking Simmons.
In the days and months that followed, the Aiken County Sheriff's Office continued their investigation into the homicide of Willie 'Caddy' Simmons Jr., as he was known to friends and family. However, the case grew cold as leads failed to materialize into arrests. As of early 2020, investigators were still appealing to the public for any information that could lead to the identification and apprehension of the person or persons responsible for Simmons' death. No suspects have been publicly named, and no arrests have been announced in connection with the shooting, leaving a grieving family and community still searching for answers and justice. The investigation into the death of Willie James Simmons Jr. remains open, a somber and unresolved chapter in the community.
