Coroner identifies 17-year-old Beaufort girl killed in shooting at apartment complex
The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office has identified the 17-year-old girl killed in a shooting at a Burton apartment complex Sunday night. She was one of three minors shot during the altercation in the parking lot.
Arianna Mulligan, 17, of Beaufort, was pronounced dead at 12:18 a.m. Monday after being airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina, according to Coroner David Ott. The teen’s autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday at the Charleston hospital.
Beaufort County deputies responded around 10 p.m. Sunday to multiple reports of shots fired at the Magnolia Park Apartments, located off Laurel Bay Road in the unincorporated community of Burton. In the parking lot, police found three juveniles who had been shot. Department spokesperson Master Sgt. Danny Allen would not say if the incident was a drive-by shooting but advised that multiple shooters may have been involved.
Mulligan was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital and then airlifted to MUSC, going into cardiac arrest during the flight, according to Ott. The coroner would not specify how many times the teen was shot.
Authorities had not publicly identified any suspects as of Monday morning. An update on the remaining two gunshot victims was not immediately available, according to Allen.
The teen’s death is believed to be the 16th homicide in Beaufort County so far this year. Current numbers are poised to outpace the death toll of 2023, which was the deadliest year in decades for gun violence in the Hilton Head Island area.
The fatal gunfire occurred about six hours before another shooting in northern Beaufort County about 10 miles north. Around 4:20 a.m., a home on Community Center was struck several times by bullets, although no one inside was injured. As of Monday morning, investigators were not sure if the cases were connected, Allen said.
Anyone with information regarding the two incidents is encouraged to call lead investigator Master Sgt. Duncan at 843-255-3418. Tips can also be submitted online at bcso.net.
This report will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published September 16, 2024 at 11:53 AM.
