On May 24, 2022, 26-year-old Jahvious Devonta Strong-Smith, a Black male, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the chest in the breezeway of the Oakland Park Apartments in Abbeville, South Carolina. Officers responded to a call about 12:30 a.m.; Strong-Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.

Later that same day, around 12:45 p.m., the body of 30-year-old Henry Dawson, a resident of the same complex, was found in a wooded area near the apartments with a gunshot wound to the upper torso. The proximity and timing of the two shootings prompted a joint investigation by the Abbeville Police Department, the Abbeville County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division. No suspects have been publicly identified and no arrests have been announced.

The relationship between Strong-Smith and Dawson has not been made public and many questions remain about what happened that morning and afternoon. If anyone has information about either man or these events, please come forward to assist the investigation.