Hampton Co. town mourns gunshot victim, calls for justice

HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - It was an uncommon Sunday morning for the 300 people who make up the town of Gifford.

“It really is a huge shock for Gifford,” Longtime Gifford resident Barbara Gregley said. “I have been in this little town for 62 years.”

The town was the scene of a triple shooting.

When deputies got to the scene, they found multiple victims.

One was Dequan Hill, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I just wish it’d never happened to him like that, but God has his own way of dealing with each one of us,” Friend of Hill, Shawna Cooper said. “He was just a hardworking man. I mean, he worked at home cutting grass, he had his own job that he went to every day, and he took care of both of his grandmothers.”

The two other people were injured and taken to the hospital; no word yet on their condition.

People who knew Hill say he pretty much kept to himself and was surprised when they found out he was the victim.

“I don’t understand why someone would have hurt somebody that was so sweet and kind,” Cooper said.

A man who was there to lend a helping hand.

Like when Barbara Gregley, who worked with Hill, would need help with her scan gun at work.

“He would tell me what to do, and I would be like, ‘Well, Quan, what do I do if it acts up again?’ He said, ‘Come back to me,’ and I’d say, ‘I would like to do it for myself, show me what to do.’ And he would show me what to do,” Gregley said.

Gregley says following this tragic event, that there small town needs to come together.

“What should go through their head is pulling together as a community, family. That’s what should happen,” Gregley said. “We just need more love.”

At the home of the shooting, tape no longer surrounds the property, but deputies say the case is still under investigation and a suspect is still at-large.

Cooper says someone needs to come forward and help the family get justice.

“Very important to both of his grandmothers, and I would love to see that done myself,” Cooper said.

If you have any information that can help law enforcement, you are being asked to call the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office at (803) 914-2200, submit tips anonymously through the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office mobile app, or call the anonymous tip line at 1-866-942-1120.