3rd arrest made in murder of 17-year-old girl outside Beaufort-area apartment complex
Police have arrested a third suspect in connection with last month’s fatal shooting of a 17-year-old girl outside a Burton apartment complex. Two teens had previously been charged with murder in the week following the incident.
Storm Lemont Zop Polite, 23, of Dale, was charged Wednesday afternoon with murder, aggravated breach of peace and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, jail records show.
Polite and two teens from the Beaufort area — Jeremiah Warren and Rashod Lorenzo Williams, both 18 — are accused in the killing of 17-year-old Ari’Anna Mulligan, described in online tributes as a “beloved” young girl with a kind heart and “warm spirit.” She previously attended Whale Branch College Early High School but transferred to Bridges Preparatory School, where she had just begun her senior year at the time of her death.
Polite’s social media profiles indicated he previously attended Whale Branch Early College High School. Public records listed his address on Community Center Road, about 10 miles north of the apartment where the murder took place.
A bond hearing for Polite is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, according to judicial filings. Beaufort County court records show no prior criminal convictions for the three suspects.
Polite, Warren and Williams remained in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center as of Wednesday afternoon.
‘Ari’Anna’s light shone brightly’
Mulligan’s celebration of life was held Saturday at the Friendship Holiness Church in Seabrook. The pews were filled with attendees wearing bright pink in the girl’s honor.
“As a teacher, they don’t really train you for things like this,” said Darrius Brockington, a business education teacher and Mulligan’s basketball coach at Bridges Preparatory School. “They don’t train you on how to accept it.”
Brockington recalled Mulligan’s dreams of attending Georgia Southern University and becoming a hairstylist.
The week prior, pink was once again prominent at an after-school memorial outside Bridges Preparatory School. Attendees released pink balloons into the sky after speeches from faculty, friends and family.
“We start school, and here she comes and is polite is polite can be,” said Daniel Tooman, principal of grades 9-12 at the public state charter school. “This young lady walked into our hallways and never missed a beat — smiled, said ‘good morning.’ ... She is in good hands looking down upon us now as we celebrate her life.”
A GoFundMe intended to finance Mulligan’s funeral expenses raised nearly $15,000 within two weeks. “Ari’Anna’s light shone brightly and her creativity and compassion touched all who were blessed to know her,” the fundraiser read.
The fatal shooting
Deputies from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office responded around 10 p.m. Sept. 15 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 said multiple shooters were believed to be involved.
Mulligan was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital and then airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, going into cardiac arrest during the flight, according to Beaufort County Coroner David Ott. He would not specify how many times the teen was shot.
One of the surviving gunshot victims was Mulligan’s brother, Allen previously told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
Anyone with information regarding the Sept. 15 shooting is encouraged to call lead investigator Master Sgt. Duncan at 843-255-3418. Tips can also be submitted online at bcso.net.
