JOHNSONVILLE (WBTW) – Officers shot and killed a man who was hiding in some woods near Johnsonville early Wednesday morning.
The man who was shot, Jeremy Lorenza Kelly, has a 23-year-old brother who has been missing since late August 2014.
According to Major Mike Nunn, deputies first responded to the home near Dixie Street and Diamond Branch Road around 1:40 a.m.
Deputies say Kelly, age 27, of Johnsonville fired shots at Johnsonville Police officers around 1:00 a.m. before running into woods and hiding. The man took several firearms with him into the woods, officials said.
Kelly’s family tried to get him to surrender, said Maj. Nunn, but he would not. Deputies negotiated with Kelly for several hours.
Nunn said when he pointed a gun at deputies, they shot and killed him.
A family member told WBTW Wednesday that Kelly has had problems since his brother vanished last year.
Kelly’s brother, Julius Lavarn Gamble, 23, was supposed to meet an aunt at a house in Johnsonville in late August of 2014, but never showed up.
The family and authorities have been searching for Gamble ever since.
Kelly was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Florence County Sheriff’s Office has asked SLED to investigate.
