Cherokee County deputies are investigating a shootout that happened at Sonny's Restaurant on Highway 29 just outside of Gaffney.
Officials said the gunfire erupted as the three attempted robbery suspects were about to leave the restaurant at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning. The suspects were shot by two employees, who were armed with guns. They were taken to local hospitals.
According to a statement released by Dennis Fowler, Cherokee County Coroner, Michael Shaquille Davidson, 16, was taken to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center where he died in the trauma center.
Lloyd Ryan Jefferies, 18, was driven to Mary Black Hospital. After being treated, deputies arrested him and booked him into the Cherokee County Detention Center. He is charged with Armed Robbery.
The third suspect, Calvin Smith Jr., remains at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. He has been charged as an adult with armed robbery.
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The Seventh Circuit Solicitor will not pursue charges against Gaffney restaurant employees who opened fire on armed robbers over the weekend.
One of the teen robbery suspects was shot and killed during the shootout that happened early Saturday morning at Sonny's BBQ Cafe, according to deputies. (Full Story)
"You have an unfettered right to defend yourself," Trey Gowdy told News 4. "If you reasonably believe you are in danger of losing your life, you may use force up to and including deadly force," said Gowdy.
When asked if the law applied even if the suspects were fleeing, Gowdy said, "How did the employees know they weren't going outside to get a bigger gun? If you are in fear of your life, you can use deadly force."
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said that Michael Shaquille Davidson, 16, was one of three teenagers shot after robbing Sonny's Restaurant early Saturday morning. Investigators say the three teens were about to leave when two employees opened fire.
"I just want to see justice for my cousin. He was shot down like a dog," said Alex Davidson.
"From what I'm getting, they was running. They was leaving the store; running out of the store," said the teen's uncle and namesake, Michael Davidson. "So I mean, if they was running out of the store, why would you shoot them in the back?"
In an interview that aired Sunday on WYFF News, several family members said they had heard that Davidson and the other two teens had been shot in the back.
Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler would not comment on whether Davidson was shot in the back or front after an autopsy Sunday, but he did confirm that the teen died of gunshot wounds.
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