Gene Coochie Ray Williams Jr. was killed in a shooting in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on May 11, 2021. He was 43 and was killed in the same incident that also took the life of 41-year-old Mark Alan Smith; a third person was injured.

Williams worked as a lineman for twenty-two years with Ertell Construction and Storm Relief. He was born March 27, 1978, was the eldest son of Gene Williams Sr. and Carolyn Hoover Williams, and was a father to eight daughters and a grandfather.

The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation but has not publicly released a motive or identified suspects or announced arrests. Anyone with information that could help the ongoing investigation is asked to come forward.