In the early morning hours of November 16, 2015, the life of 40-year-old Richard Gilmore was tragically cut short in Columbia, South Carolina. Gilmore was standing on the porch of a residence in the 1100 block of Queen Street when he was struck by gunfire at approximately 1:30 a.m. When Columbia Police Department officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Gilmore on the porch, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to his upper body.
The Richland County Coroner's Office later confirmed that the death was a homicide resulting from complications from the gunshot wound.
In the wake of the shooting, investigators began the arduous task of piecing together the events that led to Gilmore's death. They collected evidence from the scene and interviewed potential witnesses throughout the morning. In an effort to generate leads from the public, the Columbia Police Department released surveillance images to the media a week after the incident. One of the images showed a person of interest who was seen walking at the intersection of King and Bratton Streets shortly after the shooting. A second image depicted a white 2008 Chevrolet Impala that police believed could be connected to the person of interest. Authorities urged anyone with information to come forward and contact Crimestoppers, offering the possibility of a cash reward for tips that could help solve the case.
Despite the police department's public appeals for assistance and the circulation of the surveillance photos, the investigation into Richard Gilmore's murder appears to have stalled. Information regarding any arrests or the identification of a suspect has not been publicly released in the years following his death. The case of who shot and killed Richard Gilmore on that November morning on Queen Street remains unresolved, leaving his family and community without answers or a sense of justice for his untimely death. The search for the individual or individuals responsible continues, with the hope that new information may one day shed light on the circumstances of his murder.
