Teen Charged After Shooting At Road Sign And Killing Retired Marine

Eason Reid Gravley

A 17-year-old teenager from South Carolina turned himself in to the police after he ignored one of the basic tenants of gun safety: "Be sure of the target and what is in front of it and beyond it." Eason Reid Gravley was shooting at a road sign near a wooded area when one of the bullets went through the sign and struck 48-year-old Joe Darius Black Jr. in the torso while he was sitting on his porch.

Black's family called 911 and started to perform CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. He served 20 years in the Marines before he retired. 

Gravley was charged with involuntary manslaughter and possession of a handgun. He was released on $25,000 bail and placed under a curfew. Police also confiscated all of the firearms in his home.

Authorities did not say why Gravley was shooting at road signs. 

Photo: Greenwood County Sheriff's Office


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