A violent weekend in Barnwell kept law enforcement busy with two separate incidents that left one gunshot victim dead and one recovering.
The first occurred in the early hours of Jan. 29 in the parking lot the JimBo’s convenience store on Dunbarton Boulevard.
Barnwell Police Chief Todd Gantt said his department was called to the shooting around 3:45 a.m. and found one individual, whose identity has not been released, with a gunshot wound to his lower body.
The man was taken to an area hospital where Chief Gantt said he remained with what is believed to be a non-life threatening injury.
The type of gun used in the shooting has not been released and no suspects have been arrested in the shooting as of press time.
Officers were called to the Barnwell County Hospital emergency room around 6:40 p.m. Jan. 29 when an individual was brought in with a gunshot wound.
Avensta Z. Conner, 30, of Bombay Street, Barnwell was pronounced dead and an autopsy confirmed the cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the chest, said Barnwell County Coroner Lloyd Ward.
 Chief Gantt said his department requested the assistance of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division in investigating the incident. SLED processed the crime scene as well as the car used to drive the victim to the hospital.
He said he believed the incident would cross jurisdictional lines and because of the case load, he requested SLED’s involvement.
Chief Gantt said witnesses told officers Conner was shot in the parking lot of Little Howie’s restaurant in the
“Five Points area” of Barnwell.
Kathryn Richardson, Public Information officer with SLED said her agency is investigating the shooting at the request of the Barnwell Police Department but could not make further comment at this time.
The People-Sentinel has not been notified of any arrests in either incident as of press time.
Anyone with information on either incident should call the Barnwell Police Department at (803) 259-1838.