In the early morning of June 11, 2023, a dispute in the parking lot of the Vault Nightclub on Broad River Road in Columbia ended with 39-year-old Dennis Terrell Taylor shot and later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Deputies responded to a call of shots fired around 5 a.m. and found Taylor in the parking lot with a gunshot wound.

Known as DT, Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on May 21, 1984, and was a Lanier High School graduate. He was active in Columbia community service projects, a member of Masonic Corinthian Lodge #11 and the Chi Iota Iota Chapter of Omega Psi Phi, and is described as a father and loyal friend. Investigators reported Taylor argued with 21-year-old Taylor Morris and her friend, and that the argument escalated when he allegedly retrieved a rifle from his truck; Morris then shot him.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department ruled the shooting justified self-defense and Morris faced no homicide charges, though she was charged with unlawful carry of a handgun and related possession counts and booked June 16, 2023. Does anyone have information about what led to the confrontation that morning?