Walterboro Police Department and deputies with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance in the parking lot of a Ruby Tuesday’s restaurant on Sniders Highway in October of 2024. The shooting happened outside the restaurant in Walterboro where Colleton County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to help Walterboro Police Department respond to a person who was actively vandalizing vehicles by slashing tires and breaking windows, Detective Laura Rutland reported.
Witnesses told investigators that they tried to approach the man but that he was armed with a knife.
When a Colleton County deputy attempted to engage with the man, he refused to drop the knife and then attacked the deputy, Rutland further commented.
The deputy fired his weapon, killing the man.
The Colleton County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased as John Joseph Horan, V (32) of Norwich, Connecticut.
No law enforcement officers were injured. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was requested to investigate by the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office and in a press release stated said, “This is an ongoing investigation and as such, no other information about the case will be disclosed by SLED at this time.” SLED conducts law enforcement officer involved shooting (OIS) investigations at the request of the agency involved in the incident or the agency with jurisdiction. When requested to investigate an OIS, SLED’s goal is to conduct a thorough, independent criminal investigation as timely as is possible under the circumstances. SLED agents will conduct interviews with all potential witnesses in this matter. Further, SLED will collect all relevant evidence and will forensically test such evidence as needed. Information gathered in the SLED investigation of the incident will be summarized in a case file report to be submitted to prosecutors.
Based on the investigative report provided by SLED, this month the Public Integrity Unit of the 1st and 14th Circuits announced the case will not be presented to a Grand Jury (Insufficient evidence or conduct not criminal).
According to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office “the Public Integrity Unit is a collaboration between the 14th and 1st Circuit Solicitor’s Offices. It consists of senior-level attorneys and investigators from both offices, who work with law enforcement agencies to review alleged public corruption, as well as officer-involved shootings and other use-of-force cases.”
