In the early morning hours of February 23, 2023, 14-year-old Elijah Delbert Allen Sergent, a ninth grader at Palmetto High School, was killed when multiple shots were fired into his home on Willingham Road in Belton, South Carolina. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office says deputies arrived just after 2:30 a.m. and found numerous bullet holes in the house; Elijah was struck by a bullet and died at the scene.

Investigators arrested three people in connection with the drive-by shooting: Anthony Howard, Gracelynn Smith, and an unnamed 17-year-old male who was to be charged as an adult. Authorities reported the vehicle carrying the suspects drove past the house several times and that an argument had preceded the shooting; Elijah was reportedly acquainted with Howard and the teenage suspect. Initial charges of discharging a firearm into a dwelling and manslaughter were later upgraded to murder, and the three were held without bond at the Anderson County Detention Center. The teenage suspect has pleaded guilty; proceedings for the other two defendants are ongoing.

Did anyone in the Belton area see a vehicle repeatedly drive by houses on Willingham Road that night or have information about Elijah’s acquaintances?