Bullets fly in Bluffton store’s parking lot before 3 are arrested
Police have arrested three people after a Sept. 4 dispute between a customer and employee at Bluffton’s Ross Dress for Less ended when the two allegedly fired handguns into the air. The suspects include the two alleged shooters and a woman accused of lying about the incident to authorities.
The male customer, 24-year-old Danielle Nathaniel Wedderburn of Bluffton, turned himself in Monday morning on charges of aggravated breach of peace and pointing and presenting firearms at a person, according to inmate records.
He faces the same charges as Bluffton resident Khora Coke, 20, an employee of the Ross store on Malphrus Road who was arrested Thursday. No injuries were reported.
On Tuesday morning, police also arrested a 45-year-old woman from Rincon, Georgia, accusing her of trying to “conceal” evidence or knowledge of one suspect’s role in the incident, according to Staff Sgt. Robert Herlong of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
For allegedly lying to authorities, the woman, who was not involved in the shooting incident, was charged with a rarely invoked common law offense that does not appear in South Carolina criminal statutes.
Both Ross employees interviewed in the initial police report only mentioned Wedderburn firing shots, suggesting police did not learn until later about Coke’s alleged involvement.
How it happened
Witnesses inside the store on Malphrus Road said Wedderburn entered as a customer the afternoon of Sept. 4 and became “aggravated” as he waited for help at a watch display case. He continued expressing his frustration as he paid for his items and left, according to a police report.
Coke, who had been arguing with the customer, retrieved a firearm and met the male in the parking lot, police said. The duo allegedly pointed their guns at each other and both fired shots into the air. No injuries were reported.
Coke was released Friday from the Beaufort County Detention Center on cash bonds totaling $70,000, court records show.
Wedderburn was released from jail early Monday afternoon on $70,000 in personal recognizance bonds, according to court records, meaning he would not have to pay bail unless he violated court conditions.
The suspect from Rincon was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond early Tuesday afternoon.
Pointing and presenting a firearm is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison under South Carolina law.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette do not typically name individuals charged with misdemeanor offenses unless they are in a position of public trust or there is a compelling reason to do so.
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 4:18 PM.
