Reward offered in Sumter County shooting death investigation

SUMTER, S.C. — Authorities have made progress but still have many questions related to a wounded man who was left at a Sumter County hospital and died in late November. Now, they’re offering a reward to help develop new leads.

The Sumter Police Department announced on Friday that they have identified and located the driver and vehicle that took 35-year-old Travis Desmond Rouse to the Prisma Health Tuomey emergency room with a gunshot wound on Nov. 23. Rouse died later the same night. Authorities said details about who was involved in the shooting and how it happened are still limited.

Police hope a $5,000 reward for information will help them uncover more details about the incident that led to the victim’s death.

Police currently believe the shooting happened on Utah Circle in the Mooneyham community outside the city limits. However, police said the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office suspended its investigation on Nov. 24 over jurisdictional concerns. Those jurisdictional questions have led to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division joining the investigation.

Police said video shows the vehicle that left Rouse at the hospital speeding with emergency lights flashing on Boulevard Road while leaving the area where the shooting happened.

Authorities urged anyone who may have seen or heard anything connected to the case to call the Sumter Police Department at 803-436-2700.