Johnny Ray Springs, 48, was shot dead inside a residence on Sleepy Prong Road near Andrews, South Carolina, on Thursday, January 23, 2020. According to reporting based on an arrest warrant, an argument between Springs and 23-year-old Hunter Lee Elliott, described as the son of Springs’ girlfriend, turned physical. Investigators said Elliott went to his bedroom, retrieved a shotgun, returned and fired a single fatal blast. Deputies from the Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office found Springs unresponsive and pronounced him dead at the scene; Elliott was taken into custody there and booked on murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Springs was born November 20, 1971, in Florence and was remembered in obituaries as an animal lover who enjoyed fishing, music and coin collecting. Records linked to Elliott include earlier bookings in Georgetown County for larceny of livestock under $2,000 and breach of the peace. The news coverage available through the weeks after the shooting focused on the arrest and charges while noting investigators were still assembling the full sequence of events.

Did anyone in the Andrews area witness the argument or have information about what led to the deadly escalation?