Charleston drummer killed in Park Circle shooting involving North Charleston police officer (2024)

NORTH CHARLESTON— A local musician was killed in a recent police shooting at a Park Circle home.

Quentin Ravenel, 34, died at a local hospital just after 9 p.m. on June 28 after being shot multiple times off Alpha Street in North Charleston, the Charleston County Coroner confirmed on July 1.

Ravenel was active in the music scene for more than a decade.

He led a music project called the Quentin Ravenel Experience and was part of another group called Ben fa*gan & the Holy City Hooligans. He was also in The Very Hypnotic Soul Band, which formed in response to the Mother Emanuel AME shooting.

He performed on drums and sometimes vocals at various cover gigs across the Lowcountry and at more than 3,000 shows across the globe, including performances at the Billboard Music Awards, the EDC Festival in Las Vegas and NBA All-Star Weekend.

He co-wrote with singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor in Nashville, Tenn., and locally was named the Charleston City Paper's Percussionist of the Year in 2015 and Drummer of the Year in 2016. After losing and breaking so many drumsticks in his shows, Ravenel's Canadian drumstick makers, Los Cabos, started making him his own line.

His life ended after an incident happened on Alpha Street in Park Circle on June 28. A North Charleston police officer responded to a report of an assault at a home on the street just after 8 p.m. when they noticed Ravenel and a homeowner engaging in an altercation at a house down the street, according to a July 1 statement from the State Law Enforcement Division.

Ravenel entered the home during the altercation, and both the homeowner and police officer fired shots, SLED spokesperson Renee Wunderlich said.It is unclear whose bullet killed Ravenel.

The officer, whose identity has not been released, was injured but not shot.

A June 28 statement from the North Charleston police said both the officer and Ravenel were transported to a local hospital for treatment. The officer has since been treated and released.

No official notification that someone died from their injuries came until July 1.

SLED's investigation is active and ongoing.

This marks the third shooting involving North Charleston police so far this year, and the 23rd police shooting statewide. There were 43 police shootings in the Palmetto State last year.

Chelsea Grinstead contributed to this report.