On the afternoon of November 6, 2024, 31-year-old Lawrence Howard was killed in a daylight shooting on Amelia Avenue in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Howard, a Black man, was sitting in a vehicle with a female companion when an assailant approached and opened fire into the car. Howard was struck multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene; the woman suffered gunshot wounds to her head and hand and was taken to Piedmont Medical Center.

Investigators said the shooting was tied to an illegal narcotics sale that went wrong. Detectives identified a suspect within days and on November 11, 2024, arrested 35-year-old Melvin Robinson. He was initially booked on possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, then charged with murder in Howard’s death, attempted murder for the injured woman, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Robinson was held in the York County jail without bail.

If anyone witnessed the November 6 shooting on Amelia Avenue or has information about the narcotics-related dispute, please share what is known.