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'A gentle giant': Cousin describes teen who was shot and killed

17-year-old Desmond Wilson was shot and killed at an apartment building located at 8100 Garners Ferry Road on Saturday.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — An Eastover family and friends are mourning the loss of 17-year-old Desmond Wilson as they prepare to lay him to rest on April 22.

The 17-year-old was shot and killed at an apartment building located at 8100 Garners Ferry Road on Saturday. According to authorities he was found lying in the breezeway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

RELATED: One dead in Garners Ferry apartment shooting

Wilson's older cousin, Dedrick Edwards, has been cutting hair for 25 years. Wilson was one of his clients.

“He was always quiet, he would not joke but bump into me, as big as he was, at five years old, he was always big,” Edwards said. 

“I was cutting his hair ever since he was about 5 years old, maybe even younger than that," Edwards said. "His mother Kim always brought him in every week to get his hair cut."

Desmond was a junior at Lower Richland High School, and played football.

RELATED: Person shot, killed at apartment complex during Easter weekend identified as 17-year-old Desmond Wilson

Edwards said he cut Desmond’s hair until he was about 14. 

“He was always humble, a humble child growing up.”

Following multiple shootings this week, Edwards is pleading with the community to help end the violence, saying it starts at home and that parents need to have conversations about guns earlier.

“We have to do something when they’re 5, 6, 7 years old,” Edwards said.

Credit: Kayla Edwards

RELATED: 'It scares the devil out of me': Sheriff Leon Lott fears more young people will die because of guns

No arrest has been made yet. If you have any information you are urged to contact the Richland County Sheriff Department or Crime Stoppers.

RELATED: 'Something has to change': Richland County murders by gunfire doubled in 2021

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