Authorities have released the names of two people killed in Sunday’s shooting at a North Augusta gas station, and SLED says the armed suspect raised an AR-style pistol at an officer before being shot.
Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables identified the victims as 76-year-old Jewel Harden of Hephzibah, Georgia, and 33-year-old Thomas B. Lilly Jr. of Williston, South Carolina. Both victims will undergo autopsies Wednesday in Newberry.
According to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), officers with North Augusta Public Safety were dispatched around 3 p.m. Sunday to the Sprint gas station on Edgefield Road for reports of a shooting.
The first officer to arrive encountered a man armed with an AR-style pistol in the parking lot. SLED said the armed man raised the weapon, prompting the officer to fire. The suspect was struck and taken to a hospital, where he remains for medical treatment.
Additional officers arriving at the scene found a man and woman fatally shot inside the gas station. Authorities later identified them as Harden and Lilly.
No law enforcement officers were injured during the incident.
Because a North Augusta officer discharged a firearm, SLED was asked to investigate both the officer-involved shooting and the murder of two people. The agency said its agents are conducting witness interviews, collecting and testing evidence, and will submit a full case file to prosecutors once the investigation is complete.
SLED said this marks the 40th officer-involved shooting in South Carolina this year, and the first for North Augusta Public Safety in 2025. The department had no such shootings last year.
