In the early morning hours of October 25, 2011, the life of a young girl was tragically cut short in what should have been the safest of places—her own bed. Five-year-old Allison Griffor, a female, was asleep in her family's Charleston, South Carolina, home when the unthinkable happened. Around 1 a.m., her father, William Griffor, was awakened by someone aggressively kicking at their front door on Pierpont Avenue in the West Ashley area.
As he approached the door to investigate, a shotgun blast tore through it, striking him in the arm. A second shot was fired, and this one penetrated an interior wall, fatally wounding Allison as she slept.
Rushed to the Medical University of South Carolina, Allison fought for two days before succumbing to her injuries on October 27, 2011. Her parents made the difficult decision to remove her from life support and donate her organs. The Charleston community was left shocked and heartbroken by the senseless act of violence that took the life of a child described by her family as a silly, fun, and bubbly girl with an unrivaled passion for life. Investigators have considered the possibility of mistaken identity, believing the shooters may have targeted the wrong house, as drugs and guns were discovered in a nearby home.
In the years following Allison's death, the investigation has continued, but her case remains unsolved. While the Charleston County Sheriff's Office has identified several persons of interest, a lack of concrete evidence has prevented any murder charges from being filed. In June 2015, an arrest was made in connection to the case when Shyrome Jaquane Johnson was charged with obstruction of justice. Johnson, who was in the vicinity on the night of the shooting, initially lied to investigators about what he knew. He later admitted to being with a group of people who went to the Griffor's home, where the shots were fired before they fled. Despite this development and the identification of three other potential suspects, no one has been held directly responsible for Allison's murder, and the shotgun used in the crime has never been found.
