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Ja’Sean Fritz

Age : 20

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/06/2026

Location : 4800 block of Leesburg Road near Harmon Road

City : Columbia

County : Richland

State : South Carolina

Agency : Richland County Sheriff's Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during manhunt following vehicle pursuit

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/06/2026, Richland County Sheriff's Department deputies attempted to stop a silver Chevrolet sedan on Lorenzo Davis Road at approximately 1:30 p.m. because the vehicle had a suspended license plate. The driver continued driving away while deputies pursued. The pursuit ended when the Chevrolet crashed near the intersection of Leesburg Road and Harmon Road, in the 4800 block of Leesburg Road. Ja’Sean Fritz and three other people left the crashed vehicle and ran into a wooded area. Deputies established a search operation and K-9 teams began tracking them.

Deputies searching the crashed vehicle reported finding a rifle, ammunition, drugs and a modified handgun. Fritz was also wanted by authorities in Orangeburg County on murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and conspiracy charges connected with a 07/30/2026 shooting on Felder Street in Orangeburg.

Nearly two hours after the crash, deputies tracking the group through the woods encountered Fritz. According to Sheriff Leon Lott, Fritz fired at deputies and deputies returned fire, striking him. Fritz died from the gunshot wounds. Lott repeatedly stated during a subsequent press conference that Fritz fired first. However, when reporters asked to see the deputies' body-camera footage to corroborate the department's account, Lott declined to release or show the footage.

Three other people who had fled from the crashed vehicle were subsequently located and arrested. The Sheriff's Department released dash-camera footage showing the initial vehicle pursuit and a photograph of the crash, but as of 08/08/2026 had not publicly released the body-camera recordings of Fritz's fatal encounter. The names of the deputies who fired at Fritz have also not been publicly disclosed in the reporting located so far. The solicitor's office is expected to review the shooting and determine whether the deputies' use of deadly force was legally justified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wistv.com/2026/08/07/wanted-murder-suspect-killed-shootout-with-richland-county-deputies/
https://www.wltx.com/article/news/crime/leesburg-road-suspect-search-richland-county-sheriffs-department/101-30ab366f-9d7d-4896-8e67-ce76346331bb
https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/leesburg-road-shooting-new-details/101-97a346aa-d6cc-4427-bb6f-e5e877008edf
https://www.abccolumbia.com/2026/08/07/suspects-identified-after-chase-leads-to-deadly-shootout/