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Pelion man accused of shooting 16-year-old girl facing attempted murder charges
Posted: 01.16.2013 at 12:58 PM
WACH Fox News Center

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Benton W. Chavis, 24, is accused of shooting a 16-year-old girl in the back Tuesday evening.  / LCSD
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LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC (WACH) - A 24-year-old Pelion man is accused of shooting a 16-year-old girl, who was riding in a pickup truck, in the back Tuesday evening.

Sheriff James R. Metts says Benton W. Chavis, 24, is charged with three counts of attempted murder, one count of discharging a firearm into a motor vehicle that is occupied and one count of possessing a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

According to Metts, Chavis is accused of firing shots at least five times from a handgun at a pickup truck around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday near Pelion. The teenage girl suffered a gunshot wound to her back, but two other individuals in the truck were not injured.

Authorities say the 16-year-old was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, and her injury does not appear to be life threatening.

The driver of the truck told deputies he came upon Chavis and four or five other people walking in the road. He asked them to get out of the road, Metts said. The driver said one person in the group began yelling obscenities and fired shots at the truck as the driver drove away.

Metts says deputies found four bullet holes in the left rear side of the truck and one bullet hole in the glass at the rear of the truck's passenger compartment.

One of the persons riding in the Chevrolet pickup truck provided deputies with a detailed physical description of Chavis following the shooting incident, Metts said. Two additional witnesses identified Chavis as the man who fired shots from a handgun at the pickup truck.

Chavis was arrested by detectives at his home. He is scheduled to appear in court at 3 p.m. Wednesday for a bond hearing.

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