A 21-year-old woman and her stepfather were fatally shot following a road rage incident wherein their car was rear-ended by another driver. Laura Ashley Anderson and Charles Nicholas Wall, 45, were killed in Georgetown, South Carolina, outside the home Anderson had recently purchased, where she expected to begin her new adult life.
The armed driver also shot a third person who is in critical condition and tried to flee the scene but was tracked down by police dogs moments later. Police said that they are still investigating the incident to find out how such a small issue could lead to the killing of two people. The incident has left Anderson's mother devastated and traumatized.
Killed for No Reason
Anderson, reportedly, was an aspiring teacher and was out with her stepfather on Monday when the incident happened. Police allege they were shot by a driver, Ty Sheem Walters III, 23, who had just rear-ended their vehicle outside their newly purchased home.
She had just moved into the new house and was selling an old set of bunk beds online and had realized that she was locked out when she came to meet the potential buyer outside her house, Lynn Lambert, a close friend of the family said. Since she didn't have the keys for her new house, her stepdad was driving them over to her. Police say Wall had just turned into his stepdaughter's driveway to hand her the keys when he was rear-ended by Walter.
Following the collision, Walter stepped out of the car and opened fired at Anderson and Wall. Wall was shot thrice, while Anderson was shot at least once. The two immediately succumbed to their injuries.
Shot in Fit of Rage
After firing multiple rounds from his weapon, Walter shot a third person, Paul McConnell, who is in hospital but is expected to survive. He also bludgeoned McConnell with the same firearm about his head and face. McConnel's relationship with Anderson and Wall is yet unknown. It is possible that he was the customer who had come to buy the bed from Anderson.
Immediately after that, Walter fled the scene on foot and attempted to escape into nearby woods. However, police had received a 911 distress call by that time and officers responded. Walter was tracked down by police K-9 units and detained shortly after. He faces two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
"She (Anderson) was getting ready to start school. She was getting everything in order. Everything was starting to fall in place for her," the family friend told. Walter's bond has been denied on charges of possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
"I'm having to bury one of my children and my husband. It's such a freak thing. I don't know why this would happen. I just don't understand," Kimberly Wall, Anderson's mother and Wall's wife, said. "It's just devastating. I don't know how we're going to go forward."
