SLED Chief Mark Keel shares remarks on gun violence in SC

SLED Chief Mark Keel made a statement concerning the increased crime seen recently in South Carolina.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)— SLED Chief Mark Keel made a statement concerning the recent rise in crime seen in South Carolina.

Chief Keel says, “I am extremely concerned by the increasing number of murders and young people with guns in our state.
Gangs, drugs, and criminal’s easy access to guns continue to play a significant role in the violence we have seen in
South Carolina. The shooting that occurred on the Isle of Palms on Friday afternoon and others like it should never be acceptable.”

In 2021, there were 566 murders in the state, the most ever recorded, according to Chief Keel. Of those 566 murders, 322 were committed by people under the age of 25, with 59 of those by people under 18.

Other statistics shared by SLED include:

Murders increased 52.2% over the past 10 years

Weapon Law Violations increased by 4.2% in 2021 and 80.8% in the past 10 years

91% of weapon law violations included firearms and at least 76% were identified as handguns

In 2021 there were 9,728 weapon law violations; 5,117 were committed by people under the age of 25, with 1,435 of those by people under 18