Shooting at Townville School started at Home

Classes are canceled for the rest of the week at Townville Elementary School in Anderson County following a shooting Wednesday afternoon. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office reports that three people, two students and one teacher, were shot around 1:44pm. All three were taken to area hospitals. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore says a shooting occurred earlier in the day at a second location that left one man dead. “When officers arrived they found Mr. Osborne deceased. He died from a gunshot wound. There is a relationship between the victim and the shooter; this appears to be the victim’s son, who is a minor.” Shore identified the victim as 47-year-old Jeffrey Dewitt Osborne. The teenage gunman never got into the school, says Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Keith Smith. “This individual never entered the school, apparently all this happened on the playground behind the school.” The teen was taken into custody immediately upon officers arrival on scene, reports Smith. “Our deputies rolled up on the scene, went straight to the back to the playground. After they got on scene it was probably within a minute that they had the subject in custody.” Captain Garland Major of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office gave the condition of the three school shooting victims. “One of the students was shot in the leg, the other in the foot and the teacher was shot in the shoulder.” The 14-year-old boy, who was armed with a handgun is in custody. Following the shooting incident, students were evacuated by bus to Oakdale Baptist Church on Highway 24 in Townville.