Sheriff: 'We're Going to Find the Scumbag that Shot this Little Girl'

Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon has a message for the person that fired a shotgun through the door of a Pierpont Avenue home, killing a 5-year-old girl inside, and for anyone who knows anything about who pulled the trigger: "We're not holding anything back."

Calling the shooter a "scumbag," Cannon said deputies will be out in force chasing down leads and putting pressure on people to divulge information about the case.

"We're going to find the scumbag that shot this little girl," he said.

He added that now is the time to come forward for anyone who has information about the case.

"Once we catch him, we're going to prosecute (anyone who knew anything about the shooting and doesn't come forward) to the fullest extent of the law," Cannon said.

Cannon said he was relying more on people wanting the "save their own asses" to provide information rather than someone who is upset over who the victim of the shooting was.

That victim was 5-year-old Allison Griffor, who was hit in the head by a shotgun pellet fired through her family's front door early Tuesday morning. She was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina for treatment. On Thursday, after doctors found no signs of brain activity, the family took her off life support and donated her organs.

Cannon said the Sheriff's Office is working closely with the City of Charleston Police and the City of North Charleston Police, and has been in contact with the FBI.

"Somebody is going to come forward," Cannon said. "There are people out there who know who pulled the trigger."

Cannon said those people were the main target of his press conference.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday the Griffor family awoke to the sound of someone banging on their front door. The girl's father went to the door to see what was going on and the person on the other side fired a shotgun through the door. One of the pellets not only penetrated the door, but also an interior wall and Allison's head.

He also said that his office has , a shotgun and a handgun from 2153 Catterton Drive, and the subsequent arrest of the resident, 28-year-old Juan Carlos Grant.

"On the surface they don't appear to be connected, but we're not ruling anything out," he said.

Cannon also declined to comment on whether another home invasion case reported Tuesday was linked. , after a Dogwood Road resident came forward to report Bennett and four other men had robbed him of cash, an iPod and a small amount of marijuana.

According to a Sheriff's Office report Bennett confessed to the Dogwood Road home invasion and has already been given $100,000 bond on three charges from the incident.

"This is just tragedy on top of tragedy," Cannon said.