Hardeeville teen shot during sudden late-night gunfire at Hilton Head Gardens apartments
A Hardeeville teen is in the hospital after being shot at the Hilton Head Gardens apartment complex late Wednesday night, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office says.
The 18-year-old was with friends in the complex’s parking lot when seven or eight gunshots were heard. One bullet struck him as the group retreated into a nearby apartment and waited for first responders to arrive.
EMS took the injured teen to Savannah Memorial Hospital, where he remains in stable condition, according to police.
No other injuries were reported in the shooting, said Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Maj. Angela Viens.
Thursday night’s incident comes just over a month after a 32-year-old woman was shot in the head on June 9 while intervening in a dispute in the Hilton Head Gardens parking lot. Police are still searching for 31-year-old Hilton Head man Bernard Garvin, who is wanted for attempted murder and other charges in connection with the shooting.
A lawsuit filed in June against Hilton Head Gardens claims the apartments are “plagued by violent crime” due to the leasing company’s negligent screening practices. The plaintiff, whose daughter was assaulted in the apartments’ parking lot in late 2020, cites several other violent crimes that took place at the complex, such as the murder of a Bluffton teen in December 2018 and a young child being shot in broad daylight Aug. 21, 2017.
The lawsuit is pending in Beaufort County civil court.
Anyone with information about Thursday night’s shooting is encouraged to call Sgt. Wilfong at 843-255-3439 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry tip line at 843-554-1111.
