Charles Montgomery Allen, 40, received a life sentence plus 30 years each on five attempted murder counts after pleading guilty to murdering 8-year-old Quarius Dunham on May 28, 2022, in Florence County, S.C.
Senseless Attack
Allen randomly fired a rifle and shotgun at passing cars on Long Old River Road from his home, with no apparent motive—Sheriff TJ Joye cited possible methamphetamine use and Allen’s criminal history. Quarius, vacationing from Portsmouth, N.H., with family, suffered a fatal neck wound while riding in a vehicle; a woman in the same car was shot but survived.
Family Impact
The boy’s father, driving another targeted vehicle, was also wounded but lived; Allen shot at two additional cars. Quarius, a third-grader at Little Harbour School, was rushed to a hospital before life support ended, prompting grief from his New Hampshire school community.
Arrest and Outcome
SWAT arrested Allen at home amid a weapons cache. Facing dropped lesser charges like weapon possession and discharging into vehicles, his attorney noted remorse upon learning of the child’s death during Thursday’s sentencing by Judge Steven DeBerry IV.
