“Forever 25”: Community Mourns Ty’Shon Vogt as Richland County Shuts Down Jerk Hut
- Javar Juarez
- Jun 18
- 6 min read
By Javar Juarez | Columbia Urban Broadcast Network | June 18, 2025
COLUMBIA, S.C. — As hundreds of balloons drifted into the afternoon sky Thursday outside Ms. B’s Soul Food Restaurant at Dutch Square Mall, nearly 100 family members, friends, supporters, and community members gathered to honor the life of Ty’Shon Vogt, a young man whose life was cut short during a mass shooting at The Jerk Hut on Broad River Road.
The gathering was filled with tears, embraces, prayers, and memories. Young people struggled to contain their emotions as the balloons ascended overhead. Family members leaned on one another for support while a grieving community searched for answers in the wake of a tragedy that has shaken Richland County.
For Ty’Shon’s mother, Tanico Creed, the pain remains raw.
“My boy,” she told the crowd. “Anybody tell you, when I talk right here, that’s my boy. Y’all see me posting, I might say his name, but all in all, that’s my boy.”
Fighting through tears and anger, Creed spoke candidly about the heartbreak of losing her son.
“That demon took my boy,” she said. “And I hope and pray that he don’t breathe another breath of fresh air ever again.”
Yet amid her grief, Creed also spoke of faith, asking supporters to continue showing love and support in the days and weeks ahead.
“I’m hurt. I’m angry. I want his parents to feel how I feel. But all in all, I’m gonna let God do the work.”
Creed described Ty’Shon as one of the gentlest and most well-mannered young men anyone could have known.
“They took one of the gentlest, humblest, most well-mannered young men,” she said. “They took him for no reason. He had nothing to do with whatever was going on.”
According to family members, Vogt was not involved in the conflict that led to the violence. Instead, Creed said her son was trying to help others when the shooting erupted.
“At the end of the day, my boy was trying to help save somebody else’s life,” she said. “Forever our hero.”
The words resonated throughout the crowd, many of whom nodded through tears.
As the ceremony drew to a close, Creed offered perhaps the most heartbreaking reflection of the afternoon.
“He can’t be replaced, but his love will forever be a part of me.”
Community Demands Action
The emotional gathering came just hours after Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced that The Jerk Hut, where the shooting occurred, had been declared a public nuisance and permanently shut down.
Standing outside the business Thursday morning, with visible bullet holes still marking the building’s walls and doors, Lott detailed what investigators say happened during the early morning hours of June 14.
According to the sheriff, more than 20 rounds were fired into a crowd gathered outside the establishment.
“We had an individual shoot over 20 rounds into a crowd,” Lott said. “Unfortunately, we had one lose a life and five more people wounded in this case.”
That life was Ty’Shon Vogt’s.
Lott said the alleged shooter, 24-year-old Azavius Jones, fired indiscriminately into the crowd with what investigators described as a fully automatic pistol.
“He stood right where y’all are standing with the pistol and fired over 20 rounds into the crowd,” Lott said. “Total disregard for human life.”
Authorities have charged Jones with murder, five counts of attempted murder, shooting into an occupied structure, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
The sheriff criticized what he described as a criminal justice system that repeatedly allowed Jones to return to the streets despite previous convictions.
“He should be in jail. He should be in prison, but he’s not,” Lott said. “He’s one of those catch-and-release offenders that I’ve talked about a lot of times.”
A reward has been offered for information leading to Jones’ arrest.
“A Place Where People Go to Die”
During the press conference, Lott was joined by deputies who responded to the shooting. Together, they placed a heavy chain on the front door of The Jerk Hut and posted notices barring entry.
According to the sheriff, seven people have been shot at the location within the past 65 days.
“We’ve had drugs and guns and gangs,” Lott said. “This is a hangout for gangs to come. This is a location that catered to people like that.”
Lott said he worked with Richland County administrators to revoke the business’s license and classify the establishment as a public nuisance.
“We have certain clubs in Richland County that are just living off blood money,” Lott said. “And people are dying.”
The sheriff’s remarks echoed concerns raised by community leaders who have spent months calling attention to recurring violence associated with certain nightlife establishments.
“I don’t care if people go to a club and have a good time,” Lott said. “But getting shot and dying is not having a good time.”
At one point, he gestured toward the building behind him and delivered a stark assessment.
“This is not a place where you go and have a good time,” Lott said. “This is a place where you go and die.”
A Community Searching for Healing
While county officials focused on accountability, Thursday’s balloon release served as a reminder that behind every headline, arrest warrant, and press conference is a family left to pick up the pieces.
As the crowd slowly dispersed from Dutch Square Mall, many lingered in small groups, sharing memories of Ty’Shon and comforting one another.
Creed asked supporters not to forget her once the news cameras leave and public attention moves elsewhere.
“All I ask is that when things get quiet, y’all don’t forget about me,” she said. “When it gets quiet, please keep checking on me.”
For now, the balloons have faded into the distance, but the pain remains.
So does the memory of a young man remembered not for how he died, but for how he lived.
Forever 25.
Forever loved.
Forever Ty’Shon.
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