On the evening of September 27, 2024, a dispute over hunting access on wooded land near Griffin Road in Woodruff, South Carolina, escalated into a deadly exchange of gunfire. Deputies arrived at the scene around 8:00 p.m. and found three people dead and a fourth wounded. The three deceased were Nicolas Long, 22, of Greenville; Paul Higgins, 38, of Woodruff; and Jeremy Faulkner, 34, of Woodruff. A fourth person survived and was taken by private vehicle to a Simpsonville hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigators interviewed witnesses and examined evidence before the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office announced the case was closed with no criminal charges filed in connection with the deaths. The decision leaves a hunting-permission dispute as the reported origin of the confrontation and the community facing the aftermath of three people killed.

Did anyone have information about who used that land for hunting or who was present that night?