North Augusta shooter still eludes police

(North Augusta, SC)  - The shooting scarred the community and left it in shock.

November 22, 2005…a masked man with an assault rifle opened fire in North Augusta.  It happened outside the Burger King and Huddle House off Highway 25 and Interstate 20.

It’s been more than three years since it happened and no one has been arrested.

Mike Shipp, North Augusta:  “How they were going to catch one guy on a random act of a violence I mean you can disappear anywhere you want to. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s still not caught.”

Rhett Kelly, North Augusta:  “As many years that have gone by with no leads in the case and nobody caught it’s a tragedy.  There are families out there that are suffering and struggling with the loss of their loved one.  They’d like justice to be served.

It was early in the morning when the gunman shot a woman in the drive-thru at Burger King after she refused to get out of the car. The shooter then ran next door to the Huddle House, confronted William Powell and then shot and killed him.

Powell’s friend and breakfast partner Earl Carter was shot as tried to help his friend.

Eventually the shooter carjacked a person at another restaurant and got away.

Authorities did an extensive search of the area but the shooter was never captured. Even more puzzling the shooter left the crime scene only to return four to five hours later and return the car he’d hijacked earlier.  It was found at the Sleep Inn Motel about a half mile from the crime scene.  Back then North Augusta Police Chief Lee Wetherington provided some insight about the suspect.

“He apparently has no problem with shooting.”

The shooter is described as white, 20 to 25 years old, 140 pounds with brown eyes and sandy blond hair.

It’s believed he used an AK-47 or SKS style assault rifle.