Breaking: Sheriff says St. Helena mass shooting resulted from feud, no charges yet
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St. Helena Mass Shooting
A mass shooting on St. Helena Island killed four people and left a quiet seaside community reeling.
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No charges have been filed following Sunday’s mass shooting on St. Helena Island that killed four people and left a quiet seaside community reeling, Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said in a press conference Wednesday morning.
Tanner said “two to possibly three individuals in the crowd had an ongoing feud” which resulted in the exchange of gunfire. He said two or more people who grew up in Beaufort County were involved in the gunfight, but declined to clarify how many suspects were being sought nor their ages.
The four deaths were part of the 20 people shot in total at Willie’s Bar and Grill early Sunday morning. Two of the four people critically injured in the shooting were doing “a lot better” on Wednesday, Tanner told reporters.
Asked about the idea of community safety with potential suspects still at large, Tanner said he cannot guarantee whether residents are safe in Beaufort County.
“It’s a difficult answer to give,” he said.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting in elements of the investigation.
Tanner said the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office was sending firearms, shell casings and projectiles to be analyzed by SLED “within the hour” but would not confirm what type of weapons were believed to be used in the shooting. Witnesses described hearing rapid-fire shots from an apparent automatic weapon.
In response to a reporter’s question about whether the incident was gang-related, Tanner said “yes and no.” The dispute that led to the shooting was not a gang issue, he said.
“We’ve got a problem in Beaufort County and this problem didn’t pop up Saturday night, Sunday morning,” he said.
He criticized what he saw as “ridiculous” low bonds granted to suspects in machine gun possession cases, as well as witnesses not identifying the shooters to police due to “fear of retaliation.”
“We had 700 people at this party, and we have yet to get a witness that can tell us who the shooters are,” Tanner told reporters.
To Tanner’s knowledge, the shooting was not the deadliest in Beaufort County history, but perhaps the that injured the most people.
“We’ve been in this business a long time, and I don’t recall where we had 20 victims of gunshot wounds at a particular incident,” Tanner said.
Wednesday’s press conference came during a wave of calls for the sheriff to update the community on the tragedy.
As the public waited for information, rumors erupted on social media that two arrests for machine gun possession were connected to the mass shooting. Police confirmed neither set of charges was related to the incident at Willie’s.
Victims’ family members come forward
Reporters crowded around the podium where the sheriff fielded questions while 10 members of the community sat in old pews. Several of them joined the line of reporters to ask questions and make statements.
Among them was Bam Robinson, who was representing Battery Creek High School Alumni. He told reporters that even though there was a 1,200-person alumni tailgate earlier in the day, the event had “nothing to do” with the tragedy.
Dr. Cynthia Gregory-Smalls, a retired educator, was related to “one of the victims” by marriage, she said. She asked whether law enforcement could have more meetings with young people in northern Beaufort County.
Derrick Webb came forward as both a concerned member of the community and a grieving family member of one of the shooting victims, Ashantek Milledge, a 22-year-old from Burton. He asked why there were not more resources for the children in his community, who have picked up “negative” behaviors of others without having another outlet.
“If you don’t give them nothing to do,” he said, “they’re going to find something negative to do.”
Webb spoke to Milledge’s “beautiful spirit” following the press conference. She was the loving mother of two young children, Princeton and Promise, the latter of whom is Webb’s godson.
Milledge was hardworking, with her own car, her own apartment, her own job and her own life, he said. She had resided in Atlanta for some time, but had recently moved back to Burton.
Even in her young age, she always asked how she could contribute to family gatherings, he said. “What are we putting on the grill?” he recalled her asking.
“We are very proud of her,” Webb said.
Tragedy strikes St. Helena
The shooting happened just after 1 a.m. Sunday at Willie’s Bar and Grill, shortly before the end of a Battery Creek High School reunion, and sent hundreds running for their lives into nearby homes and businesses.
“The scene was horrific,” Tanner said. “Four souls were lost to senseless gunfire.”
Willie Turral, owner of Willie’s Bar and Grill, said the venue was the site of a “tailgate party” held Saturday night for alumni of the high school.
Terror struck about 30 minutes before last call, as witnesses described hearing rapid-fire shots from an apparent automatic weapon.
Following the shooting, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office stated on Sunday it was investigating “persons of interest.”
The victims were identified as Amos Gary, a 54-year-old man from St. Helena; A’shan’tek Milledge, a 22-year-old woman from Burton; Chiraad “Roddi” Smalls, a 33-year-old man from Beaufort; and Kashawn “KK” Smalls-Glaze, a 22-year-old man from Beaufort.
Turral insisted that those responsible were not part of the reunion event, characterizing the shooting as an act of terrorism.
“None of them were patrons of the building,” Turral said of the person or persons who fired the shots. “They were terrorists who came into a crowded lot of people and opened fire.”
Willie’s is located in an area known locally as “Frogmore,” the commercial hub of St. Helena Island between Beaufort and Hunting Island State Park.
The neighborhood is known for shops, restaurants and the historic Penn Center, the site of the first school in the South for formerly enslaved people. Today, the center focuses on education and cultural development.
Reporters Karl Puckett and Anna Claire Miller contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 11:32 AM.
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