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‘Be aware.’ Carjacking spree in SC Lowcountry prompts creation of multi-county police task force

Five carjackings have prompted the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety to form a task force with other local police departments and the State Law Enforcement Division to find the culprits.

Chief Charles Austin, a former Columbia police chief, said in a news conference Friday that the randomness and sporadic nature of the carjackings has heightened his concern.

“They are acting like a gang, we’re going to treat them like a gang,” he said.

Austin did not release information about the specific carjackings, but various news reports have cited daytime carjackings, a man being shot and one woman who avoided it by locking the doors and blowing the horn.

In mid-November a 62-year-old man was shot during an attempted carjacking, WLTX TV reported. Investigators with the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety said a man with a gun approached the victim’s vehicle, demanded he get out and as he attempted to drive away was shot. He then crashed into a delivery truck.

In September, officers were called to Ellis Avenue on a carjacking call. A suspect was arrested in the case, WRTW reported..

In May, two carjackers forced a driver from a car in broad daylight, prompting Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell to say at the time, “Enough is enough, I’m tired of these jokers.”

The carjacking was caught on videotape, ABC 25 reported..

In April, two armed men approached a woman at a gas station in Springfield, one from the front and the other from the back, and stole her black 2009 Honda Civic after she ran away, WCSC reported. It was early evening on a Sunday.

Less than an hour later, another Orangeburg County woman reported a man with a handgun motioned for her to get out of her car and then ran away when she locked the car and repeatedly blew the horn.

The men in both incidents wore neck gaiters and were in a silver Chevrolet Malibu stolen from the parking lot of a Branchville business on Saturday.

Involved in the just-established task force are police departments in Norway, Santee and sheriff’s offices in Orangeburg and Berkeley counties.

“We will have a high-profile presence,” Austin said.

He also said people should walk to their cars keys in hand and lock the doors. Don’t dawdle. Keep doors locked at intersections. Be aware.