In the quiet town of Ridgeville, South Carolina, the life of 18-year-old Marion Ja’Quell Simuel was tragically cut short on the evening of Tuesday, September 17, 2024. The young man, a male, was fatally wounded in a shooting that unfolded at an apartment complex on Old Gilliard Road, leaving a community in shock and mourning.
The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office was called to the scene, where they discovered Simuel with a gunshot wound.
Despite the immediate response from emergency services, his injuries proved to be fatal. The Berkeley County Coroner's Office later confirmed his identity and the cause of death as a result of the shooting.
In the hours that followed the incident, law enforcement launched a thorough investigation to piece together the events that led to the teenager's untimely death. Their efforts quickly identified a person of interest, leading to a multi-county pursuit in the early hours of the following morning. The chase, which involved deputies from both Berkeley and Dorchester counties, began when authorities located the suspect's vehicle.
The suspect, identified as Amari Gathers, led deputies on a chase that concluded on Interstate 26. After a tire deflation device was successfully deployed, Gathers' vehicle came to a stop, and he was taken into custody without further incident.
Following his arrest, Amari Gathers was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection with the death of Marion Ja’Quell Simuel. He was subsequently booked into the Berkeley County Jail. The investigation suggested that the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute between Simuel and Gathers.
