Sumter County deputies name 2 cousins, arrest 1, as suspects in triple shooting of family at mobile home park

Two 25-year-old cousins are suspected in the triple shooting of a family last week that seriously injured a 7-year-old and two adults in a Sumter County mobile home. One has been arrested. One remains at large.

Kwodel Angelo Johnson, of Somerset Drive in Sumter, was detained Tuesday morning in Orangeburg, according to Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Adrienne Sarvis. Both he and Nikeen D’Aundre Johnson, of Summit Hills Circle in Columbia, face four counts of attempted murder, and other charges are pending, she said.

According to investigators with the sheriff’s office, multiple shots were fired at the family’s residence – a 6-year-old boy was not injured – in the American Mobile Home Plaza off the 4400 block of Broad Street about 8 p.m. Friday before the suspects fled the scene.

Investigators said the shooting happened during a verbal dispute between the adult victims and the two suspects, who are acquaintances.

“I’m sick and tired of all the shootings,” Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said. “And citizens are telling me they are also sick and tired of this. Not only did the suspects shoot at two unarmed adults, but there were two children in the house. We will not tolerate thugs threatening the lives of our citizens, especially our children.”

Sarvis said the three victims – the child is a girl, and the adults are one man and one woman – have shown improvement. They were considered to be in serious or critical condition when they were transported to an area hospital Friday night.

“A family has been traumatized by this incident, and the two children will have to live with these mental scars,” Dennis said. “One child will also have physical scars from this.”

While he voiced anger at the incident, the sheriff found a silver lining that the coroner was not needed.

“There could have been multiple deaths that night. The number of victims could have easily been four or more because the shooting took place in a residential area, and neighbors were home at the time.”

As the victims continue to recover and one suspect remains behind bars, deputies are continuing to search for Nikeen Johnson. The sheriff’s office is considering him armed and dangerous.

He is a black male, weighs about 135 pounds and is 5 feet 4 inches tall with short, black dreadlocks and brown eyes.

Dennis said there will continue to be “aggressive enforcement” throughout the county for “anyone who acts so recklessly with someone else’s life.”

Anyone with information on Nikeen Johnson’s whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (803) 436-2000 or Sumter CrimeStoppers at (803) 436-2718 or 1-888-CRIMESC. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online by going to www.p3tips.com. A tip leading to Johnson’s arrest could result in a cash reward.