Community Still In Shock After Sheriff Says 14-Year-Old Girl Was Killed In Gang Related Drive-By

CHESTER COUNTY, SC.– Chester County Sheriff says the deadly shooting of a teenager is gang related. Two men are behind bars accused of a drive-by shooting, killing 14-year-old Jada Jones.

The Chester County Sheriff says the Rock Hill teen was visiting friends in Chester. He says Jones and a group were sitting in the driveway of a house on the 500 block of Pinckney Road around 9:30 Sunday, when a car drove up and fired six shots. Police believe the suspects were targeting someone else in a rival gang, and hit Jones instead.

Chester resident Kristy Thompson tells WCCB she was relaxing inside her house when she heard gunshots. Thompson ran outside and found Jada Jones lying on the ground with a bullet in her shoulder.

“I’m sorry this happened. I wish it would’ve been me instead of her. She still had her whole life ahead of her,” Thompson says.

She says her son was shot about three weeks ago and she believes the suspects could have been targeting him. The Chester County Sheriff confirming Thompson’s fears, saying her son wouldn’t cooperate with them the other two times he got shot.

“I really believe that this young lady here, he may have been the reason why he got those guys up there shooting,” says Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood.

Investigators found the suspects in about three hours. They arrested Raphael Carter and Hezekiah Tinsley. Carter faces multiple charges including murder. Tinsley is charged with accessory. Sheriff Underwood says they know Carter is a gang member, and gang-related crime is getting worse.

Thompson says she wishes it all could’ve ended differently, “I have a 15-year-old daughter, this one hits home the most and for those guys to actually come to a person’s house and didn’t care who they shot.”

Jones was a student in Rock Hill Schools last attending Rawlinson Road Middle School and then Raven Academy. Police are still trying to figure out if she has any affiliation with gangs.