Death of 3-year-old in hot car was ‘tragic accident,’ says Richland County sheriff

No charges will be filed in the death of 3-year-old Armani Shoemaker, who was found dead in a hot car last Friday, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Wednesday afternoon.

“Last Friday parents and this community experienced one of the greatest fears that a parent or community can have and that’s the tragic accident of a 3-year-old,” Lott said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “There was nothing intentionally done by anybody that caused the death of this 3-year-old, Armani.”

Armani, who Lott described as a smiley, energetic child who loved playing with bubbles, was found dead in the Windsor Estates subdivision in Columbia, South Carolina. Her parents had left her with another adult when they took another child to the doctor, Lott said.

But Armani slipped out of the house and managed to open the door of a red Kia Forte that was on the family’s property. The car was inoperable and unlocked, Lott said.

The entire incident was captured on surveillance video reviewed by sheriff’s department investigators. While he declined to release it or the source of the footage, the sheriff said that it showed Armani climbing into the car and shutting the door.

Once inside, she was not able to get the door back open, Lott said. Temperatures reached 89 degrees Fahrenheit last Friday. When outside temperatures are 80 degrees, the inside temperature of a car can reach over 120 degrees Fahrenheit in under an hour, according to NoHeatStroke.org.

Around 1 p.m., deputies arrived at the home on the 1000 block of Parliament Lake Drive following two calls about a missing person, according to an incident report. As deputies canvassed the scene, they found the front door to the home open. Shortly after, Armani was found inside of the car.

A deputy rushed her to a local hospital while another deputy performed CPR on Armani in the back seat.

In 2023, 29 children died of heatstroke inside of vehicles in the U.S., according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Children suffer heat stroke when their body temperatures reach 104 degrees, and they can die at 107 degrees, according to the NHTSA.

“If there’s a message today, it’s lock your doors. It could save somebody’s life,” Lott said. “The heat is here.”