Saturday, April 20, 2019

NEWBERRY, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT)-- A domestic dispute ends with the shooting of a mother and her 7-year-old child. Newberry Police say it all started when the suspect came home, found the door locked, and couldn't get in.

The suspect, X'Zavier Shariff Davis, is in jail facing four counts of attempted murder. Newberry officers found the 26-year-old locked inside his home after the shooting. Ultimately they were able to talk him out of the house, where he was later arrested.

According to the Newberry County Sheriff's Office, early Saturday morning Davis came home but could not get in because the door was locked. He demanded to get inside but the family was already asleep and did not answer the door. Once Davis was able to make it inside, officers say he verbally assaulted the family. The mother and her three children left through the back door and fled in the car. As she pulled off, Davis allegedly began shooting into the car several times.

The mother was shot but she continued driving, headed to the hospital. She later realized her 7-year-old had also been shot, investigators say.

Both the mother and the 7-year-old were treated at Newberry County Memorial Hospital but were later transferred to a Columbia hospital.

The sheriff's office says Davis and the mother share two of the three children together. But added, the 7-year-old victim is not Davis' biological child.

In a Saturday afternoon press release Sheriff Lee Foster said, “It is bad enough for someone to get injured in an act of violence, but when you recklessly shoot into a car occupied by small children, your own children, it is simply despicable.”

Newberry City Police, Newberry County Sheriff's Office, and SLED are investigating.