Bluffton police investigate 2 shootings in less than a week, say violence is not on rise

Editor’s note: The article was updated to say no arrests have been made in the Sunday night and Thursday night shootings.

Updated at 11:45 a.m. Monday — A woman was airlifted to a hospital after being shot in the stomach Sunday night inside a Bluffton residence, according to the Bluffton Police Department.

The shooting occurred about 5 p.m. in a mobile home on Albert Green Lane after a dispute, Bluffton Police spokesman Capt. Joe Babkiewicz said. The road sits between Bluffton Parkway and Gideon Way off Buck Island Road.

Two people who were at the scene during the shooting were brought to the police station and questioned Sunday night but no arrests have been made, Babkiewicz said Monday morning.

“They’re currently just persons of interest at this point and time until the investigation continues on,” he said.

The victim was taken to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah Sunday. Police did not have an update on the victim’s status, but investigators are meeting with her at the hospital Monday.

Sunday night’s incident is isolated and not related to a shooting on Hilton Head Island that occurred an hour later or Thursday night’s shooting at the Wendy’s on S.C. 170 on Thursday, Babkiewicz said.

Abraham Gadson, 29, of Bluffton died during the Wendy’s shooting, which police say was also an isolated incident. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are still following “several leads” in the Wendy’s shooting investigation but do not have any suspects, according to Babkiewicz.

Witnesses from the dining room and kitchen areas were interviewed, according to the initial police report.

“(Two shootings in a week) is certainly something we’re not used to in Bluffton,” Babkiewicz said.

The last murder the Bluffton Police Department investigated was in June 2016. Roy Leon Hamilton, 21, of Bluffton, was fatally shot in Oscar Frazier Park. Thomas Bush, 29, was charged with murder and attempted murder following the incident.

“The incident at Wendy’s is the first homicide we’ve had in a year and a half,” Babkiewicz said. “I don’t believe violence is on the rise ... Our numbers do not lie. We have patrol officers out all time and they’re doing good work. We have no reason to believe our numbers are on the rise.”

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published September 16, 2018 at 6:32 PM.