Coroner IDs Hilton Head teen killed after ‘targeted’ bullet strikes her sleeping at home
The teenager killed in Thursday morning’s shooting on Hilton Head Island’s Wild Horse Road has been identified as 19-year-old Hilton Head resident Keyona Mervin. The unidentified shooter remains at large.
Mervin was pronounced dead at Savannah Memorial Hospital 8:19 p.m. Thursday, said Beaufort County Coroner David Ott. He isn’t ruling on a cause of death until the scheduled autopsy Nov. 14.
A former Hilton Head Island High School student, Mervin ran track and set school records in sprint, hurdle and relay races. She graduated last year, according to the school district.
A bullet fired into Mervin’s Hilton Head home struck her while she was sleeping, but the two others in the home were unharmed. Sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after 4:00 a.m., according to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Angela Viens.
“I would think that it was targeted,” she said. “It wasn’t somebody joyriding, just firing shots in the air or firing shots at houses.”
Deputies can discern it was likely a targeted shooting based on where the bullet shell castings were, but can’t say whether Mervin was the intended target or not, according to Viens. They haven’t identified any suspects and don’t have a description of a car.
Businesses or homeowners along U.S. 278, Gumtree Road, Wild Horse Road and Squire Pope Road with street-facing cameras should review footage captured between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Nov. 9 for anything suspicious, Viens said.
They can reach out to Investigator Eric Angstadt at 843-255-3435 to review the footage.
This story was originally published November 10, 2023 at 11:39 AM.
