Preston Hickman Sr., 64, was killed in a shooting on the afternoon of August 5, 2021, in the Syracuse community of Darlington County, South Carolina. Deputies and emergency crews converged along Philadelphia Street and near Syracuse Community Road, cordoning off the area around a home after neighbors reported hearing gunshots and sirens. Coroner J. Todd Hardee identified Hickman at the scene and said he died there. A woman was also shot and taken to the hospital; early reports confirmed her injury and transport but gave few details about her condition.

Investigators from the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division worked the scene, and an autopsy was scheduled as authorities pieced together what happened. On August 13 two juveniles were taken into custody in connection with the shooting; one was charged with murder, attempted murder, armed robbery and weapon possession during a violent crime, and the other was charged as an accessory after the fact. Hickman, born July 19, 1957, was remembered in an obituary as a longtime Darlington County resident known by affectionate family nicknames. Does anyone in the Syracuse community have information about that afternoon or the people involved?