Culture of violence on social media led to Columbiana mall mass shooting, investigator testifies at pretrial hearing [Video]

LEXINGTON, S.C. (WIS) – The chaos at the Columbiana Centre mall over Easter weekend in 2022 is spilling into a Lexington County courtroom this week, as one man makes his case that despite firing his weapon, he should be immune from prosecution.

Jewayne Price is one of three charged in the mass shooting at the mall, where more than a dozen people were hurt, nine with gunshot wounds.

He has come before a Lexington County judge this week for a pretrial hearing, arguing that he shot in self-defense.

Price’s attorneys are citing a relatively new legal theory in the state of South Carolina as a basis for the hearing: the Stand Your Ground Act.

The law, enacted in 2006, provides that citizens are “immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of deadly force” in certain limited circumstances.

The defense and the state rested their case on Tuesday, following an at-times contentious afternoon in court.

“I think we’ve gone way overboard, there’s no jury …