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Man faces attempted murder charge after shooting at 2 Kershaw homes

Michael Gary Pruitt

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. — A man has been charged in connection with two shootings in Lancaster County.

Michael Pruitt, 29, is accused of opening fire on two homes in Kershaw.

The first shooting happened on March 31, 2018, at a home on Blackmon Circle in Kershaw.

According to deputies, two men and a woman called 911 around 9:30 p.m. saying someone had opened fire on the home while they were inside.

Investigators said when they got there, they found 11 9mm cartridges outside the home. They said they also found two bullets and two bullet fragments inside the home.

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About a week later, deputies learned that Pruitt had been arrested in Charlotte shortly after the shooting and had a stolen 9 mm pistol on him at the time.

The second shooting happened on July 3, 2019, at a mobile home on Bowers Lane.

Deputies said they responded just after 1:30 a.m. and discovered 32 cartridges of various calibers, including a .40-caliber outside the home, which had been hit several times.

Pruitt, who was wanted on a family court bench warrant, was pulled over by a deputy two weeks later. Inside the car, deputies said they found a small amount of marijuana and a .40 caliber pistol in the center console.

Pruitt was arrested for driving with a suspended license and simple marijuana possession, but was released on a promise to return to court.

Deputies said on Oct. 21, Pruitt was riding in the car with someone who had a suspended driver's license. When the two stopped at a business, deputies arrested the driver and searched the car.

Deputies said they found marijuana and a .40-caliber pistol stolen from Kershaw County.

Pruitt was arrested and charged with simple possession of marijuana and possession of a stolen pistol.

He bonded out the next day.

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Two days after that arrest, deputies said they were able to connect Pruitt to the shootouts at both homes, and he was arrested last Tuesday at the Kershaw Motel.

“Heads-up policing by our officers and those of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department combined with the assistance of the SLED lab allowed us to identify Pruitt as the shooter and put him in jail,” Sheriff Barry Faile said.  “Lots of rounds were fired at these two homes, and although no one was injured in either incident the outcomes could have been much worse.”

Pruitt is facing several charges, including, attempted murder and discharging a firearm into a dwelling.