16-year-old charged after shooting death of Clarendon Hall alumnus Darius Aiken

A 16-year-old, who was reportedly hallucinating on laced gummies, is in custody after the shooting death of a 19-year-old from Summerton, according to Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to a shooting call at a Cardinal Road residence in Calhoun County on Friday, March 14. Upon arrival, one victim was pronounced dead while another was flown to an area hospital.

Calhoun County Coroner Donnie Porth later identified the deceased individual as Darius Aiken.

Deputies on scene that Friday spoke with a male and his 16-year-old son. According to the sheriff’s office, the son consumed marijuana gummies that were laced with a hallucinogen. The son then told deputies he began to feel “hot." Upon entering the kitchen, he observed two individuals “wearing white masks”; the sheriff’s office later clarified that Aiken and the other individual were not wearing  masks.

The son then went to his father’s bedroom, retrieved a shotgun and cocked it before returning to the kitchen, where he shot Aiken and shot at the other individual, who was running away, the sheriff’s office said.

The 16-year-old was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent offense, according to the sheriff’s office. The identity of the teen  will not be released due to his age.

DARIUS AIKEN

In 2022, The Item sat down with Aiken for a feature in its sports series, The Grind.

Aiken attended Clarendon Hall and was a standout star in both football and basketball as well as an A-B student in the classroom.

At an early age, Aiken faced adversities that could have slowed him down – being taken from his parents at an early age and living in a children’s home for some time before having to bounce around from house to house. He would finally find family with Ridgeway and Anthony Reitenour. However, Aiken told The Item that he was grateful for such experiences, as they shaped his mindset and his goals.

“It drives me now because I want to be the best, and I want to make it,” he told The Item.

Read more about Aiken here: The Grind, presented by Bank of Clarendon: Found family: Darius Aiken finds a home at Clarendon Hall