Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- April 16, 2025
- Location
- Chester, South Carolina
- Targets
- Donald Fountain (WJZY)
- Assailant
- Private individual
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Unknown
Assault
WJZY television photojournalist Donald Fountain recounts how a bullet struck the news vehicle in which he and reporter Jen Cardone 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.
Photojournalist Donald Fountain and reporter Jen Cardone 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.
“Bullets just started going off,” Fountain 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.
“I just froze,” Fountain said. “Then I saw one of the other guys come behind our car, and it was like, ‘Call 911.’ So I’m calling 911, and so many things are just going through my mind at that point. I’m just thinking, ‘Please don’t turn that gun on us because we were the only ones who saw it.’”
Neither of the journalists was injured, though one individual was struck in the leg and was released following treatment.
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].
