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Antonio D. Toney

Age : 42

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/26/2025

Location : 300 block of Ovanta Road

City : Columbia

County : Richland

State : South Carolina

Agency : Richland County Sheriff’s Department

Officer(s) :Corporal Shawn Sullivan; Deputy Mason Boney; Deputy Christopher Miller

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during armed confrontation

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/26/2025, shortly before 10 a.m., Richland County sheriff’s deputies responded to the 300 block of Ovanta Road in Columbia after receiving reports of gunfire near construction workers performing road work in front of a residence. The man involved was 42-year-old Antonio D. Toney of Columbia.
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According to Sheriff Leon Lott, witnesses reported that Toney had fired multiple rounds toward the construction workers and then returned inside his residence. The workers were not struck. Corporal Shawn Sullivan and deputies Mason Boney and Christopher Miller responded and began communicating with Toney through a window.
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Police said the deputies attempted to persuade Toney to come outside. According to Lott, Toney remained inside and made threats toward the deputies. The deputies moved back and took cover while continuing to communicate with him.
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Police alleged that Toney subsequently raised a firearm and pointed it toward the deputies through the window. Sullivan fired a single round, striking Toney in the chest. Boney and Miller did not fire.
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After the shooting, deputies entered the residence and provided medical treatment until EMS arrived. Toney was transported to a hospital, where he died from the gunshot wound. Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford subsequently identified him as Antonio D. Toney, 42, of Columbia.
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Family members at the scene told reporters that Toney had experienced mental-health problems. Lott acknowledged that information while discussing the shooting.
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The Richland County Sheriff’s Department collected evidence from the shooting for submission to the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office for review of Sullivan’s use of deadly force.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
Corporal Shawn Sullivan fired the single shot that killed Antonio Toney. Deputies Mason Boney and Christopher Miller were present during the confrontation but did not fire.
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Sullivan had appeared publicly as a Richland County sheriff’s deputy before the Toney shooting, including an appearance as a Richland County deputy on On Patrol: Live in 2022. A substantive search for prior shootings, civil-rights litigation, discipline, criminal charges and other significant misconduct involving Sullivan did not produce an affirmative finding suitable for inclusion.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wistv.com/2025/08/27/coroner-ids-man-killed-shooting-involving-richland-county-deputies
https://wach.com/news/local/one-dead-following-richland-county-deputy-involved-shooting
https://wach.com/news/local/one-dead-after-deputy-involved-shooting-in-richland-county
https://www.wistv.com/2025/08/26/richland-county-deputies-involved-shooting-1-custody/
https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article311854602.html
https://www.wyff4.com/article/armed-man-killed-by-deputies-standoff-south-carolina/65904753
https://rccosc.com/deputy-involved-shooting-victim-id/