On Tuesday, March 16, 2021, 29-year-old Xavier Deshawn Cancer was shot and killed in Saluda, South Carolina. Xavier, born January 10, 1992, in West Columbia, loved animals and music and was a father to a son and a daughter. The confrontation began after threatening messages and a gun threat sent by Aaron Sincere Hood to another person escalated into a meeting at a house.

Xavier arrived to hang out with friends but became the focus of the dispute. The parties agreed to settle matters with a fistfight and Hood handed his gun to a co-defendant. The fight lasted about ten seconds before Hood asked for the gun back; as the weapon was being passed, Hood ended up with it and shot Xavier in the chest. The autopsy found the fatal shot was fired from more than three feet away at a downward angle.

Investigators recovered gunshot residue on Hood’s clothing and hands. At trial, witnesses described the events and Hood was convicted of murder and related assault charges and given concurrent prison terms. Did anyone who knew Xavier or saw him that day have additional information to share?