Jose Antonio Uribe, a 29-year-old man, made his home at the Comet Apartments in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was a beloved uncle to his nephew, 25-year-old Eduardo Hernandez Uribe, who lived in Hickory, North Carolina. The two men shared a close family bond, a connection that tragically followed them to the last moments of their lives.
The evening of Sunday, October 4, 2026, shattered the peace of the residential complex on Garner Road.
At approximately 7:45 p.m., the Spartanburg 911 dispatch center began receiving calls about multiple gunshots fired in the parking lot of the Comet Apartments at 127 Garner Road. Officers with the Spartanburg Police Department were sent to the scene, where they were met with a grim discovery. In the parking lot, they found both Jose and his nephew Eduardo suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office pronounced Jose Antonio Uribe dead at the scene at 7:37 p.m., just moments after the shooting. Officers on site rendered first aid to Eduardo before an ambulance arrived to transport him to a local hospital for emergency treatment. Tragically, Eduardo Hernandez Uribe succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds and died at the hospital.
The investigation into the double homicide proceeded swiftly. The day after the shooting, the Spartanburg Police Department announced that they had a suspect in custody. Bryan Alexis Ayala, 25, of Anderson, South Carolina, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. During a court appearance on the afternoon of Monday, October 5, Ayala was denied bond.
Authorities have released few details about what may have led to the fatal confrontation in the apartment complex parking lot. The initial police report was sparse, and Maj. Art Littlejohn of the Spartanburg Police Department stated that no supplemental reports or additional information beyond what had already been made public would be released. The relationship between the suspect and the victims, as well as a potential motive for the killings, has not been disclosed by investigators, leaving a grieving family and a concerned community searching for answers.
The Comet Apartments, a residential community on the west side of Spartanburg, became the center of an intense police presence as detectives worked to process the crime scene for evidence. They canvassed the area, seeking to piece together the sequence of events that culminated in the violent deaths of the uncle and nephew. The incident was a stark reminder of the suddenness with which gun violence can tear through a neighborhood, leaving lasting trauma in its wake.
As of October 2026, Bryan Alexis Ayala remains in custody awaiting legal proceedings for the murders of Jose Antonio Uribe and Eduardo Hernandez Uribe. The case is moving through the court system. The Spartanburg Police Department has asked that anyone with information regarding the shooting contact them at 864-596-2065 or 864-596-2035.
