Conway officials address recent gun violence, deny the SC murders are connected
After Conway was rocked by the murders of two young people just 10 days and one block apart, Mayor Barbara Jo Blain and Police Chief Dale Long said the city doesn’t believe that fatal shootings are connected, though both investigations remain ongoing.
In a video addressing the gun violence shared to Facebook, Blain said Conway is using every resource it has to stop the violence.
“We’re putting out cameras, license plate readers, acoustical detectors that detect and give us early warnings on gun shots,” Long said. “We are using every asset that we have at our disposal to try to bring security and safety to the area.”
Addressing gun violence
In a news conference addressing the fatal shootings, NAACP Conway chapter President Rev. Dr. Kenneth Floyd called for actionable steps in reducing gun violence in the community.
On the state level, Floyd supports raising the age to carry a firearm from 18 to 21 years old and spoke about common sense gun laws. Although it’s unclear if such a law would apply to either Gibbs or Richburg’s murders, Floyd also pointed out that South Carolina has no hate crime law.
Locally, Floyd advocated for increased police presence, promoting an anonymous crime tip line and firearm safety courses.
“It may not solve all of the problem, but at least it can deteriorate it,” Floyd told The Sun News.
Blain said steps the city is taking to address the violence include law enforcement, crime-solving technology, youth programs and safety tools.
“We do this by maintaining a fully-staffed, well-vetted and trained force of professional officers and cooperating with other law enforcement agencies; growing and utilizing technology to assist in solving crimes; by leading children away from trouble and gang involvement through recreational outlets, focused summer camps; by connecting our community with law enforcement to offer children, families and the elderly tools to improve personal safety and the list goes on,” Blain said.
Young lives lost
Conway resident V’ron Gibbs, 24, was shot on April 19 near Grainger Road and Marion Street around 10:47 p.m.
“The first incident that we investigated started off as a street encounter, people just walking and talking to each other,” Long said. “Unfortunately it escalated into an argument and, ultimately, ended with the tragic loss of life of V’ron Gibbs.”
Two suspects have been charged with murder, 29-year-old Davion “Chino” Hunt and 31-year-old Traeqwan Wilson.
Loris High School senior Ja’Niya Richburg was fatally shot through a window at her boyfriend’s Conway home on Horry Street just before midnight on April 29.
“We’re still investigating the potential cause for that incident, but we do not have any evidence at all that links the two different crimes that occurred.”
Derrick Que’Shawn Ashley, a 19-year-old Conway resident, is being charged with Richburg’s murder.
All three suspects are in custody at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center without bail.
This story was originally published May 10, 2025 at 5:30 AM.