Another teen arrested in Meadowlake Park mass shooting, sheriff says

·2 min read
Lyn Riddle/Staff

Another teenager has been charged in last month’s shooting at Meadowlake Park that injured 11 people, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced Friday afternoon.

Christopher Pearson, 18, has been charged with 11 counts of murder for his alleged role in the April 29 shooting at a post-prom party, Lott announced at a press conference Friday. The sheriff said investigators can place Pearson at the park with a gun in his hand.

Lott played a video of Pearson posted to social media after the shooting where the teen brandished weapons and urged viewers to return to the park armed.

A search of Pearson’s home following the arrest turned up eight guns, Lott said. So far none have been connected to the extensive ballistics recovered at the scene, but Lott said that his investigators were still testing the weapons.

On April 29 at about 1:20 a.m., 11 people, most of them teenagers, were hurt in the shooting and subsequent stampede at Meadowlake Park.

Of the victims, nine were shot, according to the sheriff’s department. One unidentified female at the scene suffered lower body injuries after she was run over by a car, and another victim’s hand was badly cut, the sheriff’s department said.

The crowd, mostly teenagers and young adults, gathered in the north Columbia park for a spontaneous after-prom party that drew attendees from schools around Richland County and as far away as Great Falls.

Two teens originally arrested in for a series of unrelated shootings were charged on May 3 with participating in the Meadowlake Park shooting. Investigators matched ballistics from guns taken during the previous arrests to those used during the Meadowlake Park shooting.

Two other teenagers, 19-year-old Miquise Fulwiley and 18-year-old Ty’quan Kelly, were also arrested the night of the shooting, but so far neither has been charged with participating in the shooting itself. Fulwiley and Kelly both have been charged with simple possession of marijuana and unlawful carrying of a pistol. Fulwiley also was charged with failure to stop for blue lights.

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