Coligny Beach shooting: Teen died of single gunshot while facing killer

Moments before 17-year-old Dominique Williams was killed Sunday, he was facing another boy about his age.

They had been in a fist fight the day before, but there was no argument the night Williams was shot to death in Coligny Beach Park near the water fountain, Capt. Bob Bromage of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

The shooter stood face-to-face with Williams and pulled the trigger, Bromage said.

Williams died at the scene of a single gunshot wound.

Bromage would not release further details from the preliminary autopsy, including where the bullet struck Williams, or on the investigation that he said is still underway.

Investigators are still looking into what lead the two Hilton Head teens to argue Saturday outside Cordillo Courts apartments, Bromage said.

The Sheriff's Office did say that argument carried over to Sunday's shooting at 8:20 p.m. in the island's busy tourist center.

It was the first ever homicide at the Coligny area, authorities have said.

The juvenile suspect in the shooting was turned in by his family Tuesday afternoon and charged with murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. Bromage said his whereabouts from the time of the shooting until he was turned in by relatives is still under investigation.

COURT UPDATED EXPECTED TODAY

The boy will be detained at the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia while he awaits hearings on those charges. A Family Court judge will determine whether the teenager will be charged as an adult.

Solicitor Duffie Stone will provide an update on the upcoming Family Court proceedings Thursday, according to 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office spokeswoman Erinn McGuire.

Determining if the juvenile will be charged as an adult could take months.

The name of a 15-year-old Ridgeland boy charged with murder in July 2008 wasn't released until September 2009, when a Circuit Court judge finally ruled the teenager would be charged as an adult. The teen was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder charge in 2010, according to court records.

Sheriff P.J. Tanner said Sheriff's Office investigators will likely begin submitting their reports and other information into evidence within the next week.

The Solicitor's Office will review that information before determining how to proceed in the Family Court hearings. Tanner said he and the Sheriff's Office would give their input if asked by the Solicitor's Office.

The Sheriff's Office cannot legally name the suspect because he is under 17.

In South Carolina, juvenile offenders' names cannot be released to the media unless authorized by a court order, the juvenile has been charged as an adult or has found delinquent in court for certain offenses, such as violent and felony drug crimes.

Tanner declined to release the age of the suspect Wednesday because he was not comfortable releasing any information that could potentially identify the suspect.

STEPPED-UP PATROLS CONTINUE

On Monday, Tanner said he would increase patrols in the areas of Coligny Plaza and Coligny Beach Park in response to the shooting. The area is also covered by regular patrol deputies, beach and bar patrol, and special enforcement officers.

The mayor and Town Council members say they approve of the sheriff's response.

Mayor David Bennett, who called the shooting "awful, senseless violence," said Tanner would keep the increased patrols near Coligny Beach through the rest of peak tourist season and re-evaluate the situation after it ends.

"I don't know how many police officers you can put out there that would deter someone who has set this thought process in his mind and is determined to act in this way," Bennett said.

Bennett said Wednesday he learned of the shooting within minutes of it's happening after one of his children saw mentions of it pop up on social media.

He and town manager Steve Riley deferred immediate comment to Tanner because the Sheriff's Office was handling the investigation, Bennett said.

Several council members said they believed the shooting was an isolated incident and that the Sheriff's Office was making the right response.

Councilman John McCann said he believed Tanner "had the right idea" to increase patrols, adding that he had never felt unsafe walking around the Coligny Beach area.

Councilman Thomas Lennox said council members had heard of occasional fights and scuffles near the beach, but nothing as severe as Sunday's shooting.

Even with the extra manpower, it would still be difficult to prevent such incidents like this, council members said.

Councilwoman Kim Likins said the shooting could have occurred anywhere on the island -- Coligny Beach just happened to be where those teens decided to congregate on Sunday night.

Aside from the increase in patrols, it didn't appear there would be more measures taken around the busy beach area.

Lennox said there was discussion of installing cameras on town-owned beach parking near Coligny Beach, but no talk about installing extra lighting around the area.

Those discussions could re-emerge as a result of the shooting, he said.

Councilman Marc Grant said the community as a whole needed to do more to prevent serious crimes.

"We as a community have to do a better job," he said. "We need to communicate better so we can intervene before these situations arise. I know the sheriff is doing this to the best of his abilities, and I feel very confident in them."

Island Packet staff writer Zach Murdock contributed to this report.

Related content:

• Juvenile suspect in Coligny homicide turned in by family , July 21, 2015
• Teen, 17, sentenced to 40 years for murdering Ridgeland mechanic , April 12, 2010

Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Coligny Beach shooting: Teen died of single gunshot while facing killer."