In the summer of 2019, the community of Walterboro, South Carolina, was shaken by the violent and untimely death of 22-year-old Akeem Malachi James Carr. A Black male, Carr was fatally shot on August 6, 2019, in an incident that would lead to a dramatic manhunt and the arrest of two suspects. The events of that Tuesday began to unfold around 11:30 a.m. when the emergency dispatch center started receiving calls about gunfire in the 700 block of Francis Street.
Carr was discovered under the carport of a home, having sustained a single gunshot wound to the head, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Colleton County Sheriff's deputy who was in the vicinity at the time of the shooting heard the gunshots and witnessed a dark-colored SUV fleeing the area. The deputy immediately pursued the vehicle, which subsequently crashed near Pine Needle Street. Two men were seen escaping the wrecked vehicle and fleeing into a nearby wooded area, prompting a large-scale search involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Colleton County Sheriff's Office SWAT team. The search culminated around 6 p.m. when law enforcement surrounded a residence on Grayson Street. The two suspects were found hiding in the attic of the home and were taken into custody.
The two men arrested were identified as 23-year-old Reakwon Daye of Walterboro and 22-year-old Kareem Risher of Smoaks. Both were charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Following their arrest, Daye and Risher were booked into the Colleton County detention center. A judge ordered them to be held without bond, as is standard for murder charges in South Carolina, with the case being handed over to the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office for prosecution. The investigation into the motive and the precise circumstances of the altercation that led to Akeem Carr's death continued as the community mourned the loss of a young life.
