Shots fired near waterfront restaurant in Beaufort. Here’s what police say happened
Police were called to a waterfront hot spot in downtown Beaufort early Saturday for a report of a shooting. Nobody was injured, but two men were arrested.
Police were dispatched to Hemingway’s Bistro on Bay Street at 1:39 a.m.
One officer said in his report that a number of people approached him and said the group of suspects had taken off toward the marina.
Police arrested a 21-year-old Lady’s Island man in the parking lot for firing a weapon within city limits, a misdemeanor.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers do not usually name those charged with misdemeanor crimes unless they are in a position of authority or public trust.
The suspect was frisked for weapons but had none. But a .40-caliber magazine loaded with 20 bullets was found in his right pocket, police said.
A bouncer at Hemingway’s told police that that the man fired a weapon into the air.
A second suspect, a 20-year-old Beaufort man, was later arrested after being discovered in a vehicle in the marina parking lot. He was cited for punching a glass pane in a door at Hemingway’s. In a search of the vehicle, two handguns were found. He was cited for malicious injury to real property less than $2,000.
One gold expended shell casing was collected outside of Hemingway’s.
A witness approached police alleging they had been assaulted during the incident but authorities could not confirm that complaint.
This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 10:18 AM.
