Sumter man charged for shooting at relatives and infant

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A 26-year-old Sumter man has been charged with four counts of attempted murder and is accused of shooting at multiple family members, including a relative who was holding an infant.

Steven VanBuren, of Hoyt Street, was taken into custody Friday without incident and charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime in addition to the attempted murder accusations, according to a news release from the Sumter Police Department.

According to the release and an incident report, VanBuren’s mother and two half-sisters were at his home Tuesday when they began arguing with him before he pulled a handgun.

Police were called at about 7:30 p.m. when he reportedly began firing at them as they ran from the home. One of the relatives was holding an infant when the gunfire began, the release states. No one was injured.

VanBuren has an “extensive criminal history that includes multiple weapons-related charges.”

At the time of the incident, he was out on bond for an unrelated attempted murder case stemming from October 2016. In that incident, a North Carolina man was shot and injured following an argument during a gathering on Crescent Avenue.

Bond was denied Saturday morning. He is being held at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center, where a $5,000 surety bond was also set on the weapons charge.

An investigation into the incident is continuing.