‘Tragic’: Boy 4, teen killed in Rock Hill shootout identified. SC man charged.
A 4-year-old boy was one of two people killed in a shootout at a house in Rock Hill Tuesday night.
The child and a 19-year-old man both died after Rock Hill police said a 34-year-old Lancaster man exchanged gunfire with the 19-year-old at a Frank Street home.
York County Coroner Sabrina Gast identified the two who died as Jakolby Clifton, 4, and Jamareon Kimble, 19.
The 34-year-old, Cedric Akeen Creighton, faces two counts of murder and gun charges, according to police. He is hospitalized after he was wounded during an exchange of gunfire with Kimble both inside the home and as both men exited the house, the Rock Hill Police Department said in a statement.
Police said the shootout happened before 8 p.m. in the 500 block of Frank Street, but a spokesman for the department declined to give a specific address. Officials at the Rock Hill Police Department said Wednesday a police incident report was not approved for release.
There was crime scene tape Wednesday behind a house at the southern end of Frank Street near the intersection of Oates Street.
Police: Suspect and 19-year-old victim knew each other
Other people were inside the house at the time of the shooting but were not hurt, Rock Hill police Lt. Michael Chavis told The Herald.
The shooting brought a large police and emergency presence to the area Tuesday night as law enforcement and emergency responders worked the scene. By Wednesday, the police presence was gone.
Creighton and the 19-year-old knew each other, but police have not released their specific relationship.
“They were familiar with each other,” Chavis said.
The relationship between the younger child victim and the others also has not been released. Police also declined to say what they believe led to the shooting.
“They both were there and something happened that sparked the shooting,” Chavis said.
Neighbor: “Like the wild wild west”
The shooting deaths of two people, but especially a young child, shocked people in the Flint Hill neighborhood, located north of the intersection of Saluda Street and Heckle Boulevard. Perry Sutton, a former Rock Hill City Council member and longtime youth football coach, came by Frank Street on Wednesday after getting calls about the shooting from people in the neighborhood.
Gloria Finch, who lives on Oates Street close to where the shooting happened, told The Herald she heard shots fired before 8 p.m. yet at first thought it was fireworks.
“It was so loud,” Finch said.
Finch, a retired detention officer at the York County Sheriff’s Office, said she heard emergency vehicles arriving before she could call the police.
Finch said she saw from her window emergency responders working on one of the older shooting victims.
Finch, whose family has lived in the Flint Hill neighborhood her whole life, said the shooting was “like the wild, wild west.”
Other neighbors near the shooting scene did not want to talk about the incident other than to say they saw police activity after the shooting.
Prosecutor: “Tragic incident” and what happens next
Creighton faces weapons charges along with two counts of murder, according to Rock Hill police. The extent of his injuries remains unclear. He will be taken to the Rock Hill jail and appear in court after his release from the hospital, police said.
A conviction for murder in South Carolina carries a minimum of 30 years to life in prison for each charge. 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett, whose office prosecutes criminal cases in York County, told The Herald his team has been in contact with Rock Hill police about the killings.
“We are aware of the situation, have been in communication with the Rock Hill Police Department, and have offered to assist in any way as they investigate this tragic incident,” Brackett said.
Rock Hill police said the investigation remains ongoing.
This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 9:02 AM with the headline "‘Tragic’: Boy 4, teen killed in Rock Hill shootout identified. SC man charged.."
