"This should not happen, not in our city, not in our county, not in our state..." Those are the words of Spartanburg Police Chief Art Littlejohn following a deadly shooting Halloween night.
Just before 11:30 Saturday night, October 31, 2026, officers responded to the Cook Out restaurant on John B. White Senior Boulevard after reports of shots fired. When officers arrived, they found two people in the parking lot suffering from gunshot wounds.
Both received first aid before being transported to the hospital, where they later died.
"What's so sad about this and so tragic, is that one was 15 years old and the other was 17," said Littlejohn.
During a press conference Sunday, November 1, 2026, Chief Littlejohn emphasized that the young people involved were not bad people, saying:
"...these were people just kids, ya know, after a Halloween night, going trick-or-treating, coming out to get something to eat, and then someone being irresponsible, and I do say irresponsible, pulling out a gun and start shooting."
Littlejohn says a third person also suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was transported to the hospital by a family member.
Click HERE to watch the press conference
Investigators are still working to determine what led up to the shooting. So far, no arrests have been made, and investigators have not identified any suspects.
The victims have been identified as 15-year-old Jayden Marek Watson and 17-year-old Shane Carter Dawkins, both of Spartanburg.
In addition to utilizing technology from the department's Real Time Crime Center, police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to come forward by calling 864-596-2035.
Spartanburg Police Chief Art LittlejohnSpartanburg PD
This is not the first time gunfire has erupted at this location. Spartanburg police also responded to a shooting at the same Cook Out restaurant in 2018.
