1 hospitalized after fight on Daufuskie Memorial Day weekend; 30 involved, report said
This account, originally published June 2, was updated June 4 to clarify that the first report of the fight indicated 30 people were involved, but that police interviewed 10 people and identified eight involved.
Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call that 30 people were involved in a fight at a popular Daufuskie Island marina over Memorial Day weekend that sent one person to the emergency room, according to the incident report.
Shortly after the call at 4:20 p.m. Saturday, a police helicopter flew over the scene and reported that “a large group of people were on the docks at Freeport Marina but not actively fighting ... and several boats were leaving.” When deputies arrived just before 5 p.m., they interviewed 10 people from two boats, determined eight were involved, many of them intoxicated, and identified two suspects, the report said. The investigation is ongoing, said Maj. Bob Bromage, Sheriff’s spokesman.
First reported by FITS News, the fight reportedly began after someone moved another person’s boat rope to a different cleat.
While en route to the marina, deputies asked officers with the Coast Guard and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources to stop individuals who were in the fight from leaving the marina.
Two boats were stopped.
The groups on each boat gave differing accounts to police about what happened, and neither side wanted to press charges against the other, the report said.
After interviewing 10 people, a deputy determined that a man from one of the boats moved the boat tie of a third party. However, because of intoxication and confusion, the accounts of the people on the two boats were in conflict.
A push led to punches. One man fell into the water at the dock and cut his right arm on dockside barnacles. Another broke his right ankle and later was taken to the emergency room.
The Sheriff’s Office report said the agency believes two men were the “primary aggressors” and that officers would be conducting more interviews.
This story was originally published June 7, 2021 at 9:21 AM.
