3-year-old twins hurt in shooting are in car crash on way to hospital, SC cops say

Three-year-old twin siblings who were hurt Saturday in a shooting were passengers in a car crash while on the way to a South Carolina hospital, according to the Florence County Sheriff’s Office.

The twins’ injuries are not believed to be life threatening, the sheriff’s office said Monday in a news release.

At about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a call from an area hospital where two juvenile gunshot victims were brought into the emergency room for treatment, the sheriff’s office said.

At the hospital, deputies learned the 3-year-old twins were shot while at a home at 1332 Rockwood Lane, according to the release.

The toddlers were unsupervised when one of them found an unsecured gun and fired the weapon, the sheriff’s office said. Both twins were injured, as one child was shot in the foot and the other in the thigh, according to the release.

After the shooting Daquan Travezz Butler, who had custody of the children at the time, was taking them to the hospital when his vehicle was involved in a collision, the sheriff’s office said. Information about the crash was not available, and there was no word on any injuries caused during the wreck.

A passerby stopped to help and drove Butler and the twins to the hospital, according to the release.

In the past nine years, Butler has been convicted on multiple speeding charges and for other traffic violations, Florence County court records show.

Butler, who investigators said left the toddlers unsupervised, was charged with two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, according to the release. He was taken to the the Florence County Detention Center Saturday night, before being released Sunday on a $10,000 surety bond for the combined charges, jail records show.

If convicted on the felony charges, Butler faces a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison on each charge, according to South Carolina law.

Despite the arrest, an investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible, the sheriff’s office said.

“The right to keep and bear arms is enshrined in our Constitution,” Sheriff TJ Joye said in the release. “But with that right comes the responsibility to keep firearms out of the hands of children or others not authorized to possess them. Parents, please make sure your firearms are secured to prevent incidents like this from happening.”