In the fall of 2017, Dravious 'Dre' Terry, a 22-year-old male, was a senior business major at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, with his future ahead of him. That future was tragically cut short on the morning of November 10, 2017, inside his off-campus apartment at the Campus Corner Apartments on Chestnut Street. A call to 911 brought Orangeburg County deputies to the residence around 10:15 a.m., where they discovered Terry on the ground in a pool of blood, having sustained a
fatal gunshot wound.
The person who made that emergency call was his own roommate and fellow Claflin University student, 21-year-old Andrew Sanders Jr. of Savannah. When law enforcement arrived, they found Sanders in the living room; he informed them that Terry had been shot in his room and needed help. A weapon was recovered at the scene, near the entrance to the bathroom. Sanders was taken into custody in connection with the shooting.
Sanders was subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter. During a bond hearing, his attorney characterized the shooting as a tragic accident between two best friends, stating that Sanders considered Terry to be like a brother. The lawyer argued that Sanders acted responsibly by immediately calling 911 and cooperating fully with the police. A judge set his bond at $75,000.
The Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office noted that the charge of involuntary manslaughter could be altered as the investigation progressed. They explained that a murder charge would require evidence of malice and intent, which they did not have at that early stage. As a condition of his bond, Sanders was prohibited from contacting Terry's family and was issued a no-trespass order for the Claflin University campus.
