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It appears as though our worst fears about the bizarre Kenny Miles shooting saga have been realized.
The Richland County Sheriff's Department arrested Miles on Tuesday morning for providing false information to police officers. According to the arrest warrant, Miles' gunshot wound was suffered during an attempted suicide.
Tuesday's arrest stems from a Nov. 4 shooting incident in which Miles, who was wounded, originally told investigators several different stories - including blaming the shooting on a friend and then blaming it on a stranger who was trying to rob him, according to a warrant in the case.
But, in fact, Miles later admitted, he shot himself in a bungled suicide attempt, according to the warrant.
Miles "told investigators that a friend shot him over a woman," said the arrest warrant.
"After investigations verified the alibi provided by the friend, Miles admitted that the friend had not shot him. Miles continued to change his story about what happened to him in an attempt to thwart the criminal investigation," the warrant said.
"Ultimately, Miles admitted to investigators that he had shot himself in a suicide attempt and had intentionally lied to investigators," the warrant said.
We wrote this on Nov. 12 when we first learned that Miles' injures were self-inflicted.
Lott won't comment on Miles' motives for shooting himself, and I won't either--other than to point out that this incident cannot help but exist within the context of the recent self-inflicted shooting deaths of former Gamecocks Kenny McKinley and O.J. Murdock.
Mind you, there's nothing to suggest that Miles was trying to kill himself -- or even trying to shoot himself -- but the suddenness of McKinley's death and other, similar tragedies throughout the sport of football have left indelible scars on our collective psyche. As such, the focus of my concern is, for the time being, more closely centered on Kenny's physical and mental health rather than the legal issues presented by his impending criminal charges.
As I try to play out in my mind potential explanations for Miles' actions, none them are good (unless, of course, it was a complete accident) and all leave me hoping that Kenny Miles has a solid support system in place to help him get through whatever got him to this point and whatever consequences might follow.
Miles has been released on a $400 personal recognizance bond. But, honestly, his legal issues should be the least of our concerns.
Get well, Kenny.
