Columbia woman killed in domestic shooting remembered for her achievements

Columbia is mourning the death of a woman who was a victim of a domestic shooting.

Wynter Nicole Straw was only 25 years old, but she made a profound impact, according to school officials and her employer.

“This is a tragedy for all of (the South Carolina Department of Corrections),” Director Bryan Stirling said Wednesday in a news release. “I am lifting her family and her corrections family up in prayer.”

Straw, a Columbia High School and Allen University graduate, was working as a mental health officer at SCDC’s Broad River Secure Facility when she was killed Sunday.

In that role, Straw delivered mental and behavioral health programs to some of SCDC’s most troubled inmates, spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said in the release. Mental Health Officers are specialized correctional officers/mental health technicians who complete additional mental health training and are integral to providing program services and crisis intervention, according to the release.

“Straw embodied the epitome of a dedicated officer and colleague,” the release said. “She clearly cared about her job and the people she served.”

A testament of her impact is clear in the actions of her co-workers at Broad River. Those colleagues are helping raise money for Straw’s family through the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation, according to the release.

Officials at Allen University also made a point to say that Straw was caring.

A standout athlete in two sports, Straw was remembered as much for being supportive and a mentor as she was for her achievements on the court, according to university spokeswoman Tacara Carpenter.

“She loved her family, friends, teammates, sorority, and community,” Carpenter said Wednesday in a release.

Straw played on both the women’s volleyball and basketball teams. She was a standout member of the basketball team that won the university’s first A.I.I Conference Championship and Allen’s first-ever women’s basketball championship in 2016, according to the release.

But even after graduating in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social science (that included a concentration in pre-law), Straw remained involved with Allen University athletics. The member of the Gamma Pi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority continued to attend home games, where she could be seen cheering on her fellow Allenites, according to Carpenter.

“Wynter leaves behind an immense impact on the AU community, her continued commitment to service was shown tremendous with being a mentor to many students at AU as well as the current players on both (the) women’s basketball and volleyball teams,” Carpenter said. “She made it her mission to pour back into the places that poured into her! She will be greatly missed.”

Straw was recalled as a beloved daughter, sister, friend and cousin by her former sorority.

“A life so beautifully lived deserves to be beautifully remembered,” Gamma Pi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. said on Facebook.

Straw was killed Sunday, according to the Richland County Coroner’s Office.

At about 6 p.m., deputies responded to an apartment complex in the 700 block of Mallet Hill Road, where they found Straw’s body lying outside of an apartment building, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said. She had been shot multiple times, according to the sheriff’s department.

The man suspected in the shooting, 27-year-old Renardo S. Johnson, turned the gun on himself following an hours-long standoff where he was barricaded inside an apartment. He was taken to an area hospital where he died later that night, according to the sheriff’s department.

Johnson and Straw had a romantic relationship, the sheriff’s department said.

“This is another sad example of how violent and deadly a domestic situation can be,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in a statement Sunday night. “This will impact two families, many friends and a community deeply.”

Straw’s funeral arrangements are being handled by Myers Mortuary, but as of Wednesday afternoon, no details about a possible visitation, service or burial have been made public.

“We extend our condolences to her family and friends, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers,” Richland 1 said Wednesday of the 2015 graduate of Columbia High School.