‘I cannot tell you that you are safe’: S.C. sheriff seeks leads in mass shooting

ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. — The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office shared new details in its investigation into a mass shooting that injured 20, including four people who died.

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner shared that, while they believe they know who the shooters are, of whom there are between two and three, no witnesses have come forward to confirm any details.

Tanner said that Sunday’s deadly shooting, which happened just before 1 a.m. at Willie’s Bar and Grill on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on St. Helena Island, was the result of a feud.

At the scene, deputies said they found a large group of people, some of whom had been shot. Deputies learned that hundreds of people were at the scene when the shooting happened, many for an unofficial alumni event for previous Battery Creek High School students. Several victims and witnesses ran to nearby businesses and properties to find shelter from the gunshots, deputies said.

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Tanner described the scene as horrific.

Four people were killed in the shooting: Kashawn Glaze, 22, of Beaufort; Sherrod Smalls, 33, of Beaufort; A’shan’tek Milledge, 22, of Burton; and Amos Gary, 54, of St. Helena Island.

Deputies said they were made aware of 20 people who were hurt during the shooting, another four of whom were taken to nearby hospitals in critical condition. Their current conditions are unknown.

Other victims were taken to the hospital via Emergency Medical Services. More showed up independently at nearby hospitals seeking medical attention for their injuries.

“We know there were two, possibly three within this crowd that had an ongoing feud with each other, and as a result with this ongoing feud, this disagreement, this inability to communicate like we are doing now, they resorted to pulling guns and exchanging gunfire,” Tanner said.

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No arrests have been made, but deputies say they believe there are two or three shooters. The FBI is aiding the sheriff’s office by enhancing the video for them and SLED is also taking part in analyzing guns, ammunition, and shell casings.

Deputies are also working on evidence to arrest and charge the people involved in the incident.

“Our lab here in Beaufort County is doing most of the DNA work that’s required for connectivity. So all of that’s in process,” Tanner said. He also said that deputies might have an idea of who is involved, but as of right now, no witnesses have come forward to confirm any details.

When asked if there was still no danger to the public given the fact that these shooters are still at large, Tanner said, “I cannot tell you that you are safe in Beaufort County.”