Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- April 16, 2025
- Location
- Chester, South Carolina
- Targets
- Jen Cardone (WJZY)
- Assailant
- Private individual
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Unknown
Assault
- Equipment Broken
- Actor
- Private individual
Equipment Damage
WJZY television reporter Jen Cardone recounts how a bullet struck the news vehicle in which she and photojournalist Donald Fountain were finishing a report near the county fairgrounds in Chester, South Carolina, on April 16, 2025.
A WJZY news vehicle was struck with a stray bullet while two television journalists sat inside working on an unrelated story in Chester, South Carolina, on April 16, 2025.
Reporter Jen Cardone and photojournalist Donald Fountain reported that they were finishing a piece on water runoff issues near the Chester County Fairgrounds at around 3:30 p.m. when gunfire erupted.
“It sounded like firecrackers going on,” Cardone said.
Chester County dispatchers reported multiple armed individuals were seen and that approximately 14 shots were fired, one of which struck the news vehicle, hitting just above the passenger window where Cardone was sitting.
“If I had been leaning forward and not sitting back to edit and work on the story or if that bullet just came down a few inches, I’d probably be dead right now, not talking to you,” Cardone said.
Neither of the journalists was injured, though one individual was struck in the leg and was released following treatment. In a post on social media, Cardone wrote that in 10 years of reporting the experience was a first, adding, “Thankful to be alive and okay but still shaken up.”
WJZY reported that the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division has taken over the shooting investigation, which is ongoing.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
