FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – A Dillon mother is demanding answers after she says a game warden with the Department of Natural Resources shot and injured her 17-year-old son.
Mattie Tyndall says her son is recovering in the intensive care unit at McLeod in Florence after being shot in the arm by a DNR game warden on Wednesday night. Officials with DNR confirm one of their officers was involved in a shooting that night near the Little Pee Dee River Access off of Highway 57. It happened around 6:45 when a DNR agent got into a confrontation with a male in a car, according to DNR. Captain Robert McCullough says the teenager drove toward the officer, prompting him to open fire. According to Tyndall, her son was driving away at the time he was shot. She says the game warden was arguing with a female friend of hers when her son decided to leave to avoid confrontation.
“He went to leave and went to go around the truck. The man hollers ‘stop!’ Bam. And shoots my child,” she said. “My child stopped. The only reason the truck jerked is because he asked him ‘Man, please let me put it in park.’”
Tyndall says the bullet grazed her son’s chest and struck him in the right arm. She says about three inches of bone has been replaced with metal plates. She says her family is currently waiting to hear from the doctors if her son’s arm can be saved or if it will have to be amputated. She’s not sure if her son, who she says loves to play basketball and go riding with his stepfather, will ever be able to use his right arm again.
Tyndall tells News13 she is “so mad it hurts.” She says she just wants to know why her son was shot.
“I just want answers as to why I had to see it and witness my baby getting shot. And I’d love to know what reason. What reason did he have?” she asked.
Captain McCullough says charges will be brought against the teenager and the officer involved is still employed at the agency. SLED is leading the investigation into the shooting.