COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia police say two recent fatal shootings have been determined to be self-defense, meaning no charges will be filed in the case.
The first incident happened on May 21 at the Latimer Manor Apartments on Lorick Circle. Officers say 30-year-old Steven D. Johnson Jr. was killed in the incident.
Offficers determined that Johnson was the aggressor in the case. They say he showed up at the apartments unannounced and forced his way past a woman who answered the door. He then went upstairs after he was told to stop. He was confronted by a man in the home who fired at Johnson.
Police and the solicitor's office determined the man in the home thought someone was breaking into his home when he heard the fighting and yelling downstairs.
The second happened on May 18 on Edison Street. That shooting left 30-year-old Troy Young Jr. dead.
As in the other case, officers and prosecutors determined that the person who was left dead, in this case Young, was the aggressor.
Police say Young crashed his car into a parked vehicle at a home on Edison Street. A woman who was in Young's car escaped from the car and ran into a home at the location.
Officers say Young threatened to force his way inside and threatened to harm someone there. As he got closer to the home, and man inside the home shot Young.
Officers say the man who fired the fatal shot has been cooperating with investigators.
