In the early morning of Sunday, September 15, 2024, 17-year-old Kashaan Damon Sims of Columbia, South Carolina, was killed in a shooting on the 900 block of Center Street in West Columbia. Officers responding around 3:40 a.m. found Sims with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body; he was pronounced dead at the scene. A second victim, 29-year-old Alvin Davonte McDaniel Jr. of Winnsboro, was transported to a hospital and later died. A third person was wounded and treated at a hospital before being released.

Kashaan, known as KZUP, was born on March 7, 2007, and had become a father just weeks before the shooting. Family described him as a happy young man who was working at a local fast-food restaurant and was only weeks away from finishing his GED. The West Columbia Police Department, Lexington County Coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division CSI unit are investigating; authorities describe the incident as isolated, say there is no ongoing threat, and have not released a motive. No arrests have been announced.

If anyone has information about the shooting or the people involved, please contact the West Columbia Police Department.