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An Orangeburg man says he shot another man who broke into his home, while the person who was shot is telling another story.

A 24-year-old Minel Street man remains hospitalized at the Regional Medical Center after being shot at least once in the back.

World War II veteran and former Golden Glove boxer Newman Jackson says that if he had it to do all over again -- he would.

"Yes, sir!" Jackson said. "I can't stand that. I worked hard for what I got. I hate a thief, I hate a thief."

No charges were filed against any of the parties believed to have been involved in the incident as of late Tuesday.

Jackson, who fired his weapon from his bed, calls the incident a home invasion.

"You can't do without a gun in Orangeburg," the former WWII destroyer mechanic said. "I don't go around looking for trouble but ain't nobody going to run me over, either."

The wounded man, meanwhile, says it was perhaps a misunderstanding.

He told deputies that he, a friend and a female acquaintance were at the female's house drinking beer early Tuesday. The trio then left because he "needed to talk to the man about some money," according to an Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office incident report.

The wounded man said that while brandishing a gun, his friend kicked in the front door to the residence and ran inside, according to the report.

There, the friend encountered the 80-year-old Jackson. The invader then fled the residence, the report states.

When the second man tried to flee, he was shot in the back and fell, he said.

Meantime, the friend gives a slightly different version of events, stating the trio went to the Charleston Highway residence at 2 a.m. "to get some liquor from the old man who lives there," the report states.

The friend said that when the man who later would be wounded went up to the house, a gunshot was heard and the man was seen running from the home.

Jackson gave another, slightly different, version.

The martial arts enthusiast said he awoke around 2 a.m. Tuesday when neighborhood dogs and his own dog began barking. Jackson then reached for a large-caliber handgun he keeps near his bed.

At that moment, his bedroom door burst open and a man entered carrying what Jackson said was either an AK-47 or SKS assault rifle.

"That dadgum fellow got.... that scandler was just at the door," Jackson said. "Just as he busted open the door, I pointed my gun. As soon as he seen my gun, he forgot all about his gun!"

Jackson, who also happens to be a longtime gun enthusiast, said he fired only when he had a clear shot. The shot struck the individual in the back.

"He fell on the floor and was screaming, 'Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I'm dying,'" Jackson said. "And you don't want to hear what I said."

Jackson said his neighbors then called, trying to warn him that with all the ruckus the dogs were making, there had to be something amiss.

Those neighbors later told the veteran of the Pacific Theater they'd tried several times to warn him of the impending danger but couldn't get through on the telephone.

"I was calling 911 and I'd done shot that fellow," he said.

When told what the other versions of the story were, Jackson scoffed. He didn't buy into it at all.

"Them fellows was looking for trouble," Jackson said.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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