West Columbia police officer released from hospital after gunshot wound to head
The West Columbia police officer who sustained a gunshot wound to the head last week has been released from the hospital, The State reported.
Officer James “Trip” Holland and two other officers were serving a bench warrant to 51-year-old William Kernan around 1:45 p.m. on March 31.
The warrant that was to be served was for not appearing in court for a city noise violation. Kernan had been known to be aggressive with officers in the past, according to Dennis Tyndall, the West Columbia Police Chief.
Kernan apparently leaned his head out of the window of a house and shot through the wall of the home, striking Holland. S.W.A.T. was called to the scene and after a brief standoff, Kernan surrendered to the officers around 4 p.m.
Kernan has since been charged with the attempted murder of Holland.
— Lauren Shirley, News Editor
Tiffany Mitchell named winner of Dawn Staley Award
USC junior All-American Tiffany Mitchell was presented the award named in honor of her coach at the NCAA Women’s Final Four on Sunday, according to WLTX.
Mitchell, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, is ranked as the fifth-best player in the SEC in scoring at 14.4 points per game and is the sixth woman able to win back to back Player of the Year awards in two seasons.
“What greater honor for a coach than to have one of their players win an award named after them,” USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley said. “Tiffany has set the standard for the hard work it takes to be an All-American, Player of the Year and now the recipient of the Dawn Staley award for best guard in the county.”
— James Stewart, Assistant News Editor
USC, Clemson, legislators to reassess current state of Greek life at schools
Following the deaths of two fraternity pledges this school year, officials from both USC and Clemson as well as state officials will begin to exercise more oversight, according to The State.
This year alone, three USC fraternities have been removed from campus, compared to only two fraternities in the previous three years combined. At Clemson this year, the school shut down its first fraternity in over four years.
A focus group at USC has been established to determine other student conduct issues, such as alcohol use, sexual assault, cyberbullying and racism.
Additionally, last week, more than half the legislators in the South Carolina Statehouse voted for a proposal which introduces a statewide task force to examine all student conduct on college campuses.
— James Stewart, Assistant News Editor