On May 30, 2019, a tragedy unfolded in Sumter, South Carolina, involving a 19-year-old Black male named Nyquan Jamel Samuels. That Thursday afternoon, emergency personnel rushed to a residence located in the 500 block of South Lafayette Drive following distress calls reporting gunfire around 2:00 p.m. Upon their arrival at the scene, first responders discovered Samuels suffering from a critical gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Due to the severity of his injury, he was immediately stabilized and airlifted to Prisma Health Richland, a hospital in the Columbia area. Despite the medical intervention, he succumbed to his injuries and passed away later that same day.
Detectives from the Sumter Police Department immediately launched an investigation to piece together the circumstances surrounding the fatal event. As they examined the evidence and interviewed potential witnesses, authorities determined that the shooting was not a premeditated act of violence. Instead, the findings suggested that the discharge of the weapon was accidental in nature. The investigation continued as police sought to finalize the details of how the firearm was introduced and handled during the incident.
In the wake of the shooting, law enforcement identified a suspect, 17-year-old Darius Therald Funches-McClam. On the Friday following the incident, Funches-McClam surrendered himself to the authorities at the Sumter Police Department. He was subsequently arrested and booked into the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center. Prosecutors charged the teenager with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Samuels, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor.
