Armed robbery turns into police shoot-out
An armed robbery downtown Monday afternoon led to a foot chase that ended with police firing shots at the suspect.
A pair of officers shot Gregory Johnston, 46, after he didn’t stop when ordered to and started to reach for his pocket, Columbia police Chief Randy Scott said. Both officers were safe but shaken up, Scott said, and Johnston was in good condition and stable Monday evening.
Johnston allegedly robbed the Dollar General on Taylor Street of an undisclosed amount of cash. He has a seven-page rap sheet and was released from prison 17 days ago following a 2006 strong arm robbery charge, Scott said.
Johnston gave chase and ran to a dead end of Laurel Street near Gervais Street.
The incident is being investigated by the State Law Enforcement Division, Scott said, and it initially drew a significant police response, which blocked part of Gervais during rush hour.
—Thad Moore, News Editor
Sanford admits to 'mistakes' in first ad
In his first campaign ad for his race for South Carolina’s first congressional district, former Gov. Mark Sanford is conceding that he’s made some mistakes.
While touting his qualifications for the seat, which he held in the 1990s before being elected governor, he admits he has “experienced that none of us go through life without mistakes,” and “humbly” asks for the viewers’ vote.
Sanford faced scandal in his second gubernatorial term, when he was revealed to be having an affair with an Argentinian woman after going missing for nearly a week.
Sanford is largely considered the front-runner in an upcoming Republican primary that is packed with 16 candidates. The Democratic primary is considerably less crowded; the only two candidates are Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, and former congressional aide Ben Frasier, who ran as the district’s Democratic nominee in 2010 and worked for Rep. L. Mendel Rivers, who held the seat for nearly 30 years.
—Amanda Coyne, Assistant News Editor
Burger King's official Twitter hacked
Burger King’s official Twitter account was hacked Monday morning, according to multiple news sources.
The hackers changed everything from the name of the account to the background image to show BK’s fast food competition, McDonald’s, and said it was bought by McDonald’s because “the Whopper flopped.”
The tweets became increasingly graphic throughout the nearly two hours before the feed was taken down at about 1:15 p.m., according to reports.
Some of the tweets mentioned LulzSec, a subset of the hacker group Anonymous, and others referenced DFNCTSC (Defonic Team Screen Name Club), the group that hacked Paris Hilton’s phone in 2005.
Both groups have reportedly denied responsibility, multiple news outlets reported.
The actual McDonald’s account tweeted that it empathized with Burger King and that it had nothing to do with the hacking.
The account was reactivated by 5:30 p.m., according the Chicago Tribune, and tweets from the hacking were deleted by 9 p.m.
—Sydney Patterson, Managing Editor