Man shoots at mother of children, 7-year-old as they fled domestic dispute, SC deputies say

NEWBERRY COUNTY, SC (WIS) - The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office said a man accused of shooting a woman and one of her three children during a domestic dispute early Saturday morning has been charged with multiple counts of attempted murder.

Deputies say they were called to Newberry County Memorial Hospital around 3:15 a.m. Saturday for two victims.

According to deputies, X’Zavier Sharif Davis, 26, arrived at the Cherry Lane home and found the doors locked and demanded entry. The woman and the children had gone to bed and did not answer the door.

Davis eventually got inside and started verbally assaulting the victims, deputies said. The mother gathered her three children and left the home through the back door and attempted to leave in her car.

"As she fled the property, Davis opened fire with a handgun hitting the car several times. The female victim was shot and as she driving herself to the hospital, she realized that one of her children, the 7-year-old, had also been hit by the gunfire."

Both victims were treated at Newberry County Memorial Hospital, but the child was transported to a Columbia-area hospital because of the nature of their injuries.

Davis is not the father of the 7-year-old but is the father of the two other children who were at the home.

According to Newberry County Detention Center records online, Davis was denied bond and is still in custody. He has been charged with four counts of attempted murder, and the use of a weapon during a violent crime while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“It is bad enough for someone to get injured in an act of violence, but when you recklessly shoot into a car occupied by small children, your own children, it is simply despicable,” Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said.

Because the mother drove herself to the hospital and the multiple crime scenes, Sheriff Foster said the State Law Enforcement Division’s crime unit was called to help deputies with forensic processing.

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