On Beaufort's Greene Street, fear and hope live side by side
An arrest has been made in connection with the death of Matthew Horne. Read more here.
When Demitri Williams came home from work April 30, police tape was stretched around the basketball court across the street from his Beaufort house.
It was the second time in two months that a young man had been shot to death on those courts near the Charles Lind Brown Activity Center, at the corner of Greene and Hamar streets.
A make-shift memorial marks the spot where the family of 20-year-old Matthew Horne of Dale gathered the day after he was slain two weeks ago. Candles, bouqets of flowers and other mementos sit beneath a red balloon and a cross made of red roses.
Williams said the park has been quiet since the day of the Horne shooting aside from the few people who have visited the memorial. He's also noticed a new camera on the side of Bridges Preparatory School, which faces the basketball court.
"These shootings are crazy. I don't get it," Williams, 33, said Wednesday. "Something needs to be done because this has to stop."
Horne's death came less than three months after Detuan Jenkins, 19, of St. Helena Island was slain outside the center February 16.
A third man, Nicholas Degros, was shot to death in the city in January in connection with a domestic dispute. Two arrests have been made in that case.
While an 18-year-old Lady's Island man -- Thomas James Caron -- has been charged in Jenkins' death, Beaufort Police and the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office have not made an arrest in Horne's killing.
On Wednesday, the department said only that it hoped to make one very soon before declining to release further information.
"Even one loss of life is unacceptable," spokesperson Cpl. Hope Able said. "However ... the first two homicides were not 'random' acts of violence, and therefore I don't believe they indicate the city is more or less dangerous than in previous years."
Some in the community disagree.
A woman who works on Greene Street, and declined to be named, said the community has been on edge since Horne was killed last month.
Williams agreed.
"They need to get this settled," he said of the police.
Beaufort resident Anita Prather spoke about the violence at Tuesday evening's Beaufort County Council meeting.
The fifth-generation resident recalled an earlier incident, in July 2011, when there was a drive-by shooting at the basketball court in broad daylight. Her 8-year-old grandson and dozens of others were playing in the gym across the street when a 17-year-old boy fired shots at a group playing on the court. No one was hit.
Despite the community's efforts since to bring more activities to neighborhood kids, the violence has continued, Prather told the council.
"I won't go to another funeral for a 20 year old, a 19 year old, and these kids are getting younger and younger," she said. "We're back to the drawing board. What are we going to do with these kids?"
Prather said she wants to see more city and county support for the community's efforts to increase programming at the center. She said about 50 volunteers have undergone background checks and are ready to lead a series of activities, such as Spanish classes and financial literacy programs.
The group simply need a safe and consistent place to meet, Prather said.
"Summer's coming, and I don't want the blood to be on my hands because I didn't come up and speak for the voices that won't be heard otherwise," she said.
"We have to do something for all our children."
Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.
Related content:
- Update: Murder investigation underway in Beaufort in Greene Street basketball court shooting, May 1, 2015
- UPDATE: St. Helena Island teen identified as victim in fatal Beaufort shooting, February 16, 2015
- Suspect sought after shots fired in Beaufort, July 19, 2011
This story was originally published May 16, 2015 at 2:20 PM with the headline "On Beaufort's Greene Street, fear and hope live side by side."