Five Arrested in Gang-Related Beech Island Girl Murder

Five young men were arrested and charged in connection with the June 25 shooting death of 10-year-old Lavinia Lowe in Beech Island, South Carolina. The shooting was a retaliatory act linked to the killing of 18-year-old Tranard Shepherd three days earlier in Warrenville. The suspects, Brandon Pollard, Tramain Wilson, Timothy Harris Jr., Quincy Dunbar, and Ri’Dauris Blocker, face charges including first-degree murder, murder, criminal conspiracy, and accessory before the fact. Authorities revealed that the intended target of the shooting had not lived at the Beech Island address for over a year, and the shooting tragically killed an innocent child as she slept. The arrests were made following coordinated raids in Richmond, Aiken, and Edgefield counties, with most suspects being juveniles, and at least one individual still wanted. Law enforcement officials condemned the violence, describing the perpetrators as "gang-banging cowards" who attacked a house full of innocent people.