Skip to main content
search

Two Males Charged in Fatal Shooting of 7-Year-Old Knowledge Sims

By October 27, 2021Press Releases

Columbia Police Chief W.H. ‘Skip’ Holbrook announces the arrests of two males in connection with the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Knowledge Sims.

21-year-old Kwatez Carter (DOB: 8-3-2000) and 24-year-old Travon Wilson (DOB: 5-5-1997) are charged with Murder, Attempted Murder, Possession of a Weapon during a Violent Crime, Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature, Discharging a Firearm into a Dwelling, Criminal Conspiracy.

Wilson was arrested shortly before 6:00 p.m. this evening at the 2500 block of Bailey Street without incident by CPD and the United States Marshals Service (USMS) Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force.  The arrest location is about a mile from where Knowledge was murdered shortly before 11:30 p.m. on April 29, 2020 at his Tarragon Drive home.

Wilson is currently being questioned by CPD officers at Headquarters and will be transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center (ASGDC).

CPD will also be charging 21-year-old Kwatez Carter. He is currently in custody on unrelated charges. Arrangements for the service of the active murder warrants are currently underway.

The two suspects are accused of shooting multiple times into a residence at 109 Tarragon Drive in the Capital Heights neighborhood off Farrow Road on April 29, 2020.  CPD officers initially responded to a ShotSpotter alert. Approximately a minute later, the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center received an emergency call from 109 Tarragon Drive reporting that two children had been injured by gunfire.

As result, 7-year-old Knowledge Sims was struck by gunfire and later pronounced deceased at a local hospital. His 13-year-old sister survived her injuries.  At the time of the shooting, the house was occupied by nine people; two adults and seven children. No one else suffered any injuries. During the course of the investigation, CPD investigators have not believed that Knowledge Sims was the intended target.

Ballistic evidence collected from the scene by CPD officers and submitted to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) for analysis has been forensically matched to the crime. The evidence was entered into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) and additional matches were confirmed. Firearms related to the case have been seized.

In a separate case, Carter is also charged with Attempted Murder, Possession of a Weapon during a Violent Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Person Convicted of a Violent Felony in another Columbia Police Department shooting investigation.

On April 4, 2020, at the 100 block of Ripplemeyer Avenue Carter is accused of shooting at multiple victims who were traveling in vehicles at North Pointe Estates apartment complex. Ballistic evidence collected at the crime scene was also forensically matched by SLED. CPD officers initially responded to several ShotSpotter alerts at the incident location.

The Sims investigation remains active and additional arrests are possible.

Close Menu