ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) - An 82-year-old South Carolina woman is accused of pointing a handgun at a census worker on her porch and shooting two rounds over the top of the employee’s vehicle.
The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office has charged Willadean Bishop Harrell with first-degree assault and battery, The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg reported Wednesday.
The charges followed the alleged incident on Tuesday afternoon, when Harrell told a 25-year-old female census taker to get off her porch, pointing a .38-caliber Taurus handgun at her.
Harrell admitted to firing two shots after the census worker got in her car and was backing out of the driveway, according to an incident report. Harrell said she could not clearly see the census worker’s identification badge.
Neither the census employee nor her car were shot.
Sheriff’s deputies collected the handgun, and Harrell was released on a personal recognizance bond Wednesday. She could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said local census employees received a list of households that had yet to complete this year’s census. The workers carry ID badges with their photographs, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark and an expiration date.
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