COLUMBIA, S.C. — A Midlands woman is calling for justice after her sister was shot at a local nail salon in front of her own child.
It's a moment Precious Darby Gunter will never forget. "Only thing I remember them telling me was that there was blood everywhere."
The moment she was told her sister was in the hospital with a gun shot wound, she says, "Everything happened so fast."
Gunter said her sister, Octavia Johnson, was getting her nails done for a night out. "It was our sister's birthday. We were all supposed to go out together, and enjoy each other. She was getting her nails done and we was all going to come together and have a good time."
Then tragedy hit. "She's fighting for her life at this point," Gunter said. "She got shot in her upper area."
Gunter said the brutality of the crime is heartbreaking. "They left my sister there to die. They left her die."
"Not only did you do that to my sister, and you thought you was going to leave her there to die, you did it in front of my niece," Gunter said "She witnessed her mother being shot."
Officials say Octavia Johnson was found in the doorway of Rose Nail salon when they arrived at the scene. The Richland County Sheriff's Department said they are still trying to piece together what happened. "Deputies on the scene found a woman suffering from a gun shot injury," said Deputy Sara Blann.
"We were called to that location at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Friday to a report of a shooting," said Blann.
Gunter said all she wants for her sister is justice. "We're not going to stop, we're not ever going to stop looking for a person, the people or whoever did this to my sister," Gunter said. "You can run, you can hide, you can thank your did something, but we are not giving up."
If you have any information about the shooting, you are asked to contact Crimestoppers anonymously in any of the following ways:
- Call 888-CRIME-SC (888-274-6372).
- Use the P3 Tips mobile app.
- LOG ON to www.midlandscrimestoppers.com, and click on the red “Submit a Tip” tab.