Suspected Gang Leader Arrested in Northeast Columbia

A suspected gang member who was active in the Northeast area of Columbia is in jail, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced Monday.

Deputies arrested 23-year-old Paris Lee Alexander last Friday and charged him with attempted murder. 

In October, deputies responded to a shots fired call at the Waffle House on Two Notch Road where they say Alexander shot a victim multiple times in the lower body. The incident was the result of an altercation that started earlier that evening at Sunset Place Club at 6525 Two Notch Rd.

Alexander is also a suspect in several incidents dating back to January, Lott said.

Deputies say Alexander was one of a group of 15 who attacked two victims at a club in Richland County in September.

He is also accused of beating up a woman at a gas station in April and shooting a woman while she was placing her grandchild in a car seat in January.

The victims in the incidents were intimidated because of Alexander's gang affiliation and his threats of violence, Lott said.

Alexander graduated from Richland Northeast High School and was a top gang leader in the Northeast area, Lott said.

He is being held without bond at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County.