Fatal shooting at South Carolina dollar store was justified, but man faces weapons offense charges

DUNCAN, S.C. (AP) — A man arrested in Ohio after a fatal shooting at a South Carolina dollar store was justified in defending himself, but he faces weapon offense charges, authorities said.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office announced that a SWAT team with the Chillicothe Police Department in Ohio arrested Ladarius Harris, 27, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, after a brief standoff on Thursday.

Deputies were called to a Dollar General in Duncan on Dec. 27, where the clerk said she heard a pop and then found a man with a gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said in a social media post. The injured man, identified as Danny Ray Crisp, of Spartanburg, told deputies the shooter’s name, and deputies were later told that shots were fired during a disagreement the men had a week earlier, the sheriff’s office said.

Crisp, 50, was taken to a hospital and died two days later, according to an email from County Coroner Rusty Clevenger. His death was ruled a homicide.

Video from the store shows Crisp arming himself with a mallet, following Harris around the store and motioning to his wife and daughter to the exit, the sheriff’s office said. The video then shows Crisp raising the mallet and going to the aisle where Harris was, but doesn’t show the shooting.

The Solicitor’s Office determined that Harris was justified in defending himself, but a magistrate issued warrants charging Harris with weapons offenses, the sheriff’s office said.

Online records show that Harris is being held without bond on a fugitive from justice charge at the Ross County Jail in Ohio. Those records do not list an attorney who could comment on behalf of Harris.