The suspect in Wednesday’s random shooting at the Whiskey Road Walmart that left a teen girl hospitalized has been charged with gun violence before.
Stephen Foreman, 32, is charged with attempted murder and weapon possession in the shooting of 13-year-old Ashton Rickard. There is no known relationship between the two, and a motive is unclear, Aiken police say.
In May 2019, Foreman was charged with kidnapping and weapon possession for allegedly tying up his brother and parents in their home on Interlachen Court.
The older brother said Foreman came out of his bedroom with a sawed-off shotgun and ordered his brother and parents to the corner of the living room.
From a report: “The younger brother threw some black tape to his older brother and told him to tie up his parents while pointing the gun at his brother. The older brother taped up the leg of his parents and then his legs before the younger brother taped up his older brother’s hands. The younger brother was going on about robbing a bank and other ‘jibberish’ and nonsense.”
Foreman also took cell phones before heading back upstairs along with the keys to the older brother’s gun safe. The family was able to untie themselves and ran for the woods behind the home, calling 911 from a phone the mother had hidden in her chair before getting tied up.
“When the younger brother heard the family run out, he grabbed the father’s wallet and several handguns and ran to a black Ford Expedition and left the area,” the report says.
The suspect surrendered to police the next day. He had four firearms and many rounds of ammunition that were seized.
The 2019 case no longer shows up in online court records, suggesting the charges were dismissed. Solicitor Bill Weeks was not immediately available for comment, but Deputy Solicitor Ashley Hammack told The Aiken Standard that Foreman pleaded guilty to two counts of pointing and presenting a weapon in January 2021 and was sentenced to mental health court.
Meanwhile, police say Foreman called police Wednesday and surrendered peacefully at the KFC nearby. He confessed to ditching the gun on a shelf in Walmart, a report says. Officers found the semi-automatic Colt 1911 pistol in the cards section on the bottom shelf.
Any witnesses who may have additional information about the shooting are asked to call Aiken Public Safety Detective Celina Dobbs at 803-643-2121.
ADPS press release on Wednesday’s shooting:
A shooting incident occurred on June 7, 2023, at approximately 7:34 pm at 2035 Whiskey Road (Walmart) in Aiken. Aiken Department of Public Safety responded to the incident, finding a single juvenile victim with a gunshot wound. The victim was transported to a local hospital by EMS for treatment. The suspect was taken into custody by Public Safety within moments of the shooting. The suspect, identified as Stephen Foreman, a resident of Aiken, has been charged with Attempted Murder and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime. Currently, there is no known relationship between the victim and the suspect. There is also no known motive at this time. This investigation remains active and ongoing.
