Abel Huerta Jr., a 20-year-old from the Ridgeland area of Jasper County, South Carolina, was fatally shot on the night of Wednesday, January 17, 2024. He was sitting in a car with three friends on a secluded dirt road off Wagon Branch Loop when the shooting occurred. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Huerta died from gunfire.

Investigators reported no bullet holes in the vehicle and no immediate signs of a drive-by shooting or a prior altercation at the scene, details that complicated the early stages of the inquiry. Because of limited staff at the local sheriff’s office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division took over the investigation.

As of early August 2024 there had been no publicly identified suspects or arrests and the case remained open. If anyone saw activity on Wagon Branch Loop that night or has information about Abel’s death, please share what is known with authorities.