A 13-year-old Midlands teen is facing hate crime and property damage charges after a burglary investigation in Richland County, South Carolina, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies said they responded on May 14 to a vacant home on Coatesdale Road after a witness checking the property for the owner reported seeing a bicycle outside and two minors running from the house.
When deputies entered the home, they found extensive damage, including large holes punched into walls, a kicked-in door and multiple broken windows. Investigators also discovered graffiti spray-painted inside the house that contained racial slurs, antisemitic messages and swastikas. The sheriff’s department said the vandalism led to the teen being charged under the county’s hate crime ordinance, along with third-degree burglary and malicious injury to property.
According to RCSD, witnesses helped deputies identify one suspect, who was later located at a nearby home. A search warrant at the teen’s residence turned up paint cans that investigators believe were connected to the vandalism at the vacant property. Because of the suspect’s age, the teen was not publicly identified.
Authorities said the 13-year-old was taken to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. Deputies are still working to identify the second minor believed to have been involved in the incident. The investigation remains active as law enforcement continues gathering information about the burglary and the hateful messages left behind inside the home.
RCSD is asking anyone with information to contact the sheriff’s department at 803-576-3000 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. The case has drawn attention because it involves both a burglary and allegations of hate-motivated vandalism at a vacant residence in the Midlands.
The sheriff’s department said the home suffered significant internal damage during the break-in, and the spray-painted symbols and language inside the property were treated as part of the criminal case. Officials did not release further details about the property owner or whether the home had been targeted before.
The incident happened in Richland County, part of the Columbia area, and comes amid ongoing concerns about juvenile crime, vandalism and hate-related offenses in the community. Law enforcement has not said whether additional charges may be filed once the second suspect is identified.
The investigation remains ongoing, and deputies are encouraging the public to provide any information that could help determine the full extent of the vandalism and identify everyone involved in the burglary.
