Deputies said Xavier Felix Rivera-Goucher entered the Chesnee-area residence early Sunday and had no known relationship with the people who lived there.
CHESNEE, SC — A Spartanburg County homeowner shot and killed a 19-year-old stranger who entered a home early Sunday morning, authorities said, in a case that remained under investigation with no charges filed.
Deputies with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported shooting at a home on Cherokee Circle at about 2 a.m. Aug. 30. Inside, they found a person dead from multiple gunshot wounds and two people who lived at the residence. Investigators later identified the person who was killed as Xavier Felix Rivera-Goucher, 19, of Campobello.
The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office said Rivera-Goucher was found dead at the scene and was pronounced dead at about 2:21 a.m. Authorities have not publicly released a detailed account of what led him to the residence or why he entered the home.
Based on preliminary interviews and evidence collected at the scene, sheriff’s investigators determined that Rivera-Goucher entered the residence during the early morning hours. Deputies said the homeowner encountered him inside and fired a weapon, striking him. Authorities have not publicly identified the homeowner.
Investigators said Rivera-Goucher had no known prior relationship with the residents. That finding left a key question unresolved: why he entered a home occupied by people who apparently did not know him. Officials have not announced a motive or released additional information explaining the circumstances leading up to the encounter.
No charges were initially filed after the shooting. The Sheriff’s Office said investigators were continuing to examine the circumstances and evidence surrounding the death. In a subsequent report, the agency was described as saying it did not expect charges to be filed, though the investigation remained active.
South Carolina law includes the Protection of Persons and Property Act, which codifies the state’s Castle Doctrine and provides legal protections for the use of deadly force in a dwelling under certain circumstances. The law does not make every fatal shooting inside a home automatically lawful, and authorities have not publicly announced a final legal determination explaining how its provisions apply to this case.
The law generally recognizes that a person may use deadly force in specified circumstances involving an intruder or attacker in a dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle. Whether a particular shooting meets those requirements depends on the facts and evidence reviewed by investigators and prosecutors.
Authorities have released little information about the moments before Rivera-Goucher entered the house. They have not publicly said whether there was a confrontation before the shooting, how Rivera-Goucher entered the residence or whether he was armed. No additional injuries were reported in the accounts released by the Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation remained open as authorities continued reviewing evidence from the Cherokee Circle home. Officials had not announced charges as of the latest reports, and no additional explanation for Rivera-Goucher’s presence at the residence had been released.
Author note: Last updated September 2, 2026.