The Black / African American male victim, Kevin Lynnard Starkes Jr., became the subject of a homicide investigation in Orangeburg, South Carolina, following a violent incident in the early autumn of 2024. On October 4, 2024, local law enforcement and emergency responders were dispatched to an apartment complex in the city after receiving reports of gunfire.
Upon arrival at the scene, authorities discovered Starkes had sustained critical injuries from a shooting that occurred outside the residential buildings.
The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety immediately secured the area and launched an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the attack. Starkes was transported for medical treatment, but he succumbed to his injuries, with official obituaries noting his passing on October 6, 2024. The tragic event left the local community and his family in deep mourning as investigators worked to piece together the events that led to the fatal gunfire on that Friday evening.
In the wake of the shooting, detectives pursued leads that ultimately resulted in legal action against an individual connected to the death. The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety announced that a man was facing a manslaughter charge in relation to the fatal shooting of Starkes. While the specific identity of the suspect was not immediately detailed in all public releases, the charge indicated that authorities had established a suspect in the case, moving the investigation from an active search to a matter for the courts.
