Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009

Mother tried to shield baby in shootings

WALTERBORO -- A South Carolina mother fruitlessly tried to shield her 20-month-old toddler from a barrage of bullets in a drive-by shooting that killed the baby and two adults and injured at least five others, relatives said Tuesday.

Relatives said the victims were playing cards Monday night in the front yard of the small beige bungalow in Walterboro when a car pulled up and opened fire.

"Everybody was sitting outside. Instead of shooting at one guy, they shot at everybody," said Dominique Adams, 21, a cousin who lives nearby.

"The mother, she tried to shield the baby, but the bullet went through the baby's head and through the mother's arm."

Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey said Charles Kittrell, 45, died at the scene. The baby, Shaniyah Burden, and Christopher Powell, 21, died at hospitals.

Adams identified the mother as Aleshia Kittrell, 24, saying she had been taken to Colleton Medical Center, but the hospital did not confirm she was a patient.

The motive for the shootings was unknown, but some relatives and neighbors suspected it was gang-related. No arrests have been reported.

Officers were looking for a black car with one headlight, Police Capt. Ken Dasen said. Bessie Kittrell, 69, said she lost her son, Charles, a grandson, Christopher, and a great-granddaughter in the shooting. She said she almost lost a second great-grandchild: Powell had put his 8-month-old son inside the house a short time before the shooting.