LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — An overnight home invasion in Lexington County Wednesday off Prismatic Way has left two people dead and a 9-year-old boy without parents.
Neighbors in Rocky Springs say it's a subdivision where families wave to say hello to each other, their kids play together, and they keep in touch through a private Facebook group.
"Couldn’t really believe the things happening in this little neighborhood. It’s so quiet and never had any trouble," Tommy Evans, neighbor said.
That all changed last night around 1:30 in the morning when the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department was called to Dominique Bolen Walker’s house in Lexington County because of a home invasion.
"My wife came down and she said there’s a bunch of police officers out here, so we looked and saw all the lights and we thought maybe it was just an accident, someone had hit someone’s car or there was a small fire or something," Phillip Markovich, next door neighbor said.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department explained that when deputies arrived, they tried to go inside the house when they heard gunfire, but then one deputy was hit by gunfire and backed out of the house.
"And I looked out the window so that I could kind of see the front of the house from that angle and that’s when I saw him plow out of the front garage in her car and take off through both of the police cars, in front of the lamp post," said Summer Adams, neighbor across the street.
Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon explained in a press conference this morning at 8 a.m. that Jamal Walker broke into his ex-wife’s home, shot Dominique Bolen Walker while her son was in the home and tried to escape.
"Along the chase, the suspect was shooting multiple rounds at our officers. As the car came to a stop right down the road, the suspect jumped out of the car with his handgun still. More gunfire was exchanged. We were able to incapacitate the suspect. Ultimately he was pronounced deceased," Koon said.
The Lexington County coroner identified the victims this morning.
"(I) Discovered that there was a deceased female and that a 9-year-old child had been taken over to DSS," Margaret Fisher, Lexington County coroner said. "One of the things I did notice was she was a good mom. She’s very organized, had her little boy’s schoolwork all done."
In the aftermath of this tragedy, a hurting young boy, family members and neighbors.
"I think other moms are feeling it too. We are just broken hearted and devastated because, it’s like I told my husband, in one second, your whole world is turned upside down and you lose your parents and your whole world has changed," Adams said.
While News 19 was on the scene for this story, Dominique Bolen Walker's father, James Rumph arrived to the house absolutely devastated. He told News 19 he wasn’t comfortable going on camera, and is of course still processing this incredibly traumatic event.
He traveled here from Allendale and picked up some items from inside the house with the Lexington County Coroner's Office before leaving.
According to the Lexington County Coroner's Office, autopsies of Dominique Bolen Walker and Jamal Walker will be performed at MUSC in Charleston this Friday at 8:30 in the morning.
The neighborhood watch group tells News 19 they plan to start a GoFundMe for the victim’s family.