Accused shooter in Childress case takes stand

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Michael Juan Smith, accused shooter in the Martha Childress case, takes the witness stand Monday. The defense resumes testimony in the case after the state rested on Friday. Smith is suspected of shooting and paralyzing Childress, a Greenville native. Investigators say he fired shots on a crowded street in Columbia’s Five Points area. One bullet struck Childress, who was a freshmen at the University of South Carolina at the time. Quoting testimony from inside the courtroom during a jail phone call to his girlfriend at the time, Smith gave her instructions of what to say on the stand. During his testimony today Smith said that he was not aiming anywhere in particular when he shot adding that he fired after hearing a shot because he feared for his life. Smith is charged with attempted murder.