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A man charged with killing a bystander in Columbia, S.C., has been granted immunity from prosecution after citing the state’s Stand Your Ground Act. In the early morning hours of April 17, 2010, an S.U.V. filled with teenage boys had been threatening Shannon Scott’s 15-year-old daughter, driving by their home and firing a gun. Shortly after, Darrel Niles, 17, a high school basketball player, drove by, and mistakenly believing Niles was involved with the earlier menacing, Scott, 33, shot him in the head with a .380 bullet, killing him instantly.

“He ascertained the threat and he reacted,” said Todd Rutherford, who is both Scott’s lawyer and the Democratic state representative who helped write the law in 2006. When questioned about a conflict of interest in his defense of Scott, Rutherford replied, “Who better to defend the law than someone who helped to write it?”

Rutherford’s view of events was challenged by 5th Circuit Assistant Solicitor April Sampson. “If this law were to be applied the way (Scott) wants to apply it,” she said, “he could shoot a 4-year-old playing in her front yard and still be immune from prosecution.” South Carolina would turn into “the Wild, Wild West” if fearful people can go around shooting just about anyone, she added.

Here is today’s report.

—Jennifer Mascia

A 7-year-old boy was shot in the hip when the car in which he was riding came under fire in Hammond, La., Wednesday evening. The window of the vehicle was struck by a bullet, but his parents were unaware that their son was injured until they stopped at a gas station. Police are soliciting tips.

—NBC33TV.com

Four people were killed in shooting at a home in Paris, Tex., Wednesday night. 18-year-old Romello Dewain Steward, 21-year-old Devante Larry Akins, 24-year-old Brijonne Rashad Woods and 32-year-old Billy Charles Carey were shot in the front room of the residence, where one of the victims lived. Friends said the home was a hangout where they played video games. A preliminary investigation ruled out murder-suicide.

—KLTV.com

An 18-year-old man was shot in the chest and killed at a home in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday afternoon. The victim was sitting on the porch when he was approached by two people from the street. There are no suspects at this time. That night in a separate incident, Brandon Beard, 23, was shot and killed inside a home on the north side of Columbus. No arrests have yet been made.

—NBC4i.com

A 21-year-old man was found shot to death on the west side of Rochester, N.Y., late Wednesday. Witnesses said several men connected to the shooting were seen fleeing the scene. One person was apprehended.

—Democrat & Chronicle

A woman was shot multiple times and critically wounded at an apartment complex in Topeka, Kan., Thursday night. An hourlong manhunt followed, after which the shooter, Sheek I. Azeez, was captured. No motive was revealed.

—The Topeka Capital-Journal

A man was shot and killed in South Salt Lake, Utah, Wednesday evening. Detectives were unable to find blood, bullet casings or any other evidence at the scene, nor have they been able to confirm where the shooting took place or whether it was a homicide, accident or suicide.

—The Salt Lake Tribune

Kevin L. Burt, 33, and Alicia J. Welborn, 35, were shot in the head and killed at a home in the Minersville neighborhood of Johnstown, Pa., Wednesday night. There were signs of drug use at the residence. No witnesses have been located and police are soliciting tips.

—The Tribune-Democrat

A Michigan State trooper was shot and wounded on the west side of Saginaw, Mich., Thursday evening. Another man was shot and taken to a hospital.

—CBS Detroit

A man was shot in the chest and wounded during a drug-related robbery in Spokane, Wash., early Thursday. Police are searching for the shooter, who fled on foot.

—The Spokesman-Review

A woman mowing her grass was struck by a shotgun pellet in Spartanburg, S.C., Thursday evening. A possible suspect was seen running away from the scene through the woods.

—FoxCarolina.com

A woman was shot and wounded at a west Little Rock, Ark., apartment complex Thursday afternoon. One person is in custody. Police believe the shooting may have stemmed from a domestic dispute.

—THV11.com

On Thursday afternoon in Little Rock, three people were wounded when someone in a van opened fire on a crowd gathered outside a restaurant. One of the victims was holding her one-year-old child at the time. Police haven’t yet made any arrests.

—THV11.com

A woman was shot in the face at a housing complex in Fruitland, N.M., early Thursday. Patrick Lynn Benally, 25, a suspect in the shooting, is at large. The suspect was convicted of misdemeanor assault on a peace officer in April.

—Daily Times

Christopher A. Jones, 25, was shot several times in his bed in Huntington, W.Va., Thursday morning. A 6-year-old child was present in the bedroom but was unhurt. The child’s mother, who also lives there, told investigators that she found a man in his 20s, whom she did not recognize, standing in her hallway. He walked into the bedroom and opened fire. He is at large.

—WSAZ3

A man in his 50s was shot multiple times while sitting on a couch inside his apartment in Dayton, Ohio, late Thursday. Police found the victim wrapped in towels at a neighboring apartment, where he had retreated after the shooting. Half a dozen shell casings were found on the sidewalk. The shooting may be drug-related.

—WHIOTV.com

A man was shot in the leg and wounded in Dunkirk, N.Y., Thursday afternoon. Nathaniel D. Hollins Jr., 22, was arrested. No motive was announced.

—The Buffalo News

A teenage boy and a man were shot and wounded while walking in Fort Pierce, Fla., Thursday evening. No other details were given.

—WPTV.com

According to Slate’s gun-death tracker, an estimated 9,190 people have died as a result of gun violence in America since the Newtown massacre on December 14, 2012.