2016 Townville Elementary School Shooting

On September 28, 2016, a shooting occurred at Townville Elementary School in Townville, South Carolina, roughly 40 miles southwest of Greenville. Fourteen-year-old Jesse Osborne drove a black pickup truck into a fence surrounding the school, exited the vehicle, and began firing a .40-caliber pistol into the air near the playground while repeatedly shouting "I hate my life." He then jumped the fence and fired at students on the playground. Police received a 9-1-1 call at 1:44 p.m., and Osborne was apprehended by a volunteer firefighter around 2:00 p.m. after his gun jammed, roughly 12 seconds after he first fired at people.

During the shooting, one student was shot in the foot, a female teacher was shot in the shoulder, and both were treated at AnMed Health and released the following evening. Another student sustained a superficial wound not requiring treatment. A third student, six-year-old Jacob Hall, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg that caused massive blood loss and cardiac arrest. He was airlifted to Greenville Memorial Hospital for surgery but died on October 1, 2016, three days after being shot. A superhero-themed funeral for Hall was held on October 5, 2016.

Investigators determined that before driving to the school, Osborne had shot and killed his father at the family home. His grandmother discovered the body after receiving an "unintelligible," tearful phone call from Osborne, prompting her to go to the house. Osborne had previously attended Townville Elementary through fifth grade and was described as sociable and academically capable. At the time of the shooting he was being homeschooled after expulsion from middle school earlier that year for bringing a hatchet and machete to school. He maintained an online presence in which he expressed interest in studying mass killers, including the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and had previously written that he thought he would "kill around 50 or 60."

In February 2018, a judge waived Osborne's case from Family Court to General Sessions Court so he could be tried as an adult. He was charged with two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and five counts of possessing a weapon. He initially pleaded not guilty in September 2018, but on December 12, 2018, he pleaded guilty to all five counts of murder and attempted murder, waiving his right to a jury trial. Testimony during proceedings indicated Osborne had been influenced by an online chat group focused on mass shootings and had been planning an attack for months.

On November 13, 2019, Osborne was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murders of his father and Jacob Hall, plus 30 years for the attempted murder charges. Following an appeal, in September 2023 his two life sentences were changed to two concurrent 75-year sentences, meaning he is expected to be released at age 89. He has been held at several South Carolina correctional institutions, including Kirkland, Turbeville, and Lieber.