Ridgeland barber describes moments after shooting, killing robber carrying machete

RIDGELAND, SC. (WTOC) - A barber told us what happened when he shot a man who he said came into his shop and tried to rob him while wielding a machete.

SEE: Man shot, killed in attempted armed robbery at Ridgeland barber shop

Kahylinn, one of the barber’s at Jays Barber Shop and Styling in Ridgeland told us Thursday was supposed to be a normal day.

He kissed his fiancé bye and came into work to cut people’s hair like he has for six years, but then two masked men walked into the shop.

Kahylinn was cutting a customer’s hair and talking to him as he would any customer.

“We were talking about our kids. The guy in my chair he was expecting a baby either yesterday or today,” said Kahylinn.

When he saw only one of the suspects in a mask appear in front of his chair.

“A guy comes in with a machete,” described Kahylinn.

He said the guy probably snuck in the back of the building, which isn’t uncommon for customers or workers to just walk in the back of the building, but this was different.

“He said, ‘Y’all know what it is.’ That’s literally my facial expression, and he swings right here right. I am behind the chair; my station is set up right here. He is standing right here and swings, then, like pivots right here and the rest is history,” demonstrated Kahylinn.

He said the man then swung the machete towards them, and Kahylinn, a registered gun owner, out of fear for his life, pulled out his gun and shot him one time in the chest.

“I truly felt that our lives were in danger. Anybody could easily say, ‘Man maybe we could have run out of the shop.’ To put in perspective that from my angle in the barber shop, you couldn’t even see the other guy that was in here. If you try to run out that door right now, you have to grab the door and push it down, and then run out. The machete was this long,” indicated Kahylinn.

The man, later identified as Curtis Scott, was able to leave the building, but later collapsed in front of his car, which is where police found him.

Police say all the evidence is pointing to this being a case of self-defense.

“You really don’t think that something like that happens, but you know all barbers around the world need gun safety. Everybody should know the protocols in case that situation happens, but at the same time, people in the community if anybody sees that situation about to transpire, maybe you can talk them out of it, maybe you can alert somebody, maybe something can happen where somebody doesn’t have to lose their life,” said Kahylinn.

If you have any information on the other suspect in this case, you are asked to contact the Ridgeland Police Department at (843) 726-7530.