Still no charges for possible third shooter in St. Helena Island case
Months into an investigation stemming from the Oct. 12 shooting on St. Helena Island that killed four people and injured 15 others, authorities have not yet charged a possible third gunman.
Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner previously told the public that investigators knew three shooters were involved in the incident, including Anferny Freeman, who has since been charged with four counts of murder, one of the deceased, 22-year-old Beaufort man Kashawn “KK” Smalls-Glaze, and a third, unidentified shooter.
“We know we have three shooters,” Tanner said during a Nov. 14 press conference hosted by the department. “We’ve recovered enough evidence that allows us to say that we have three people that discharged weapons at that scene.”
At the time, Tanner would not answer questions from reporters about who he referred to as “the third shooter.”
But in a Monday interview, the county’s top law enforcement official said that while investigators determined three guns were fired outside Willie’s Bar and Grill early Oct. 12, that does not necessarily mean three different people pulled the triggers.
It’s possible, he said, that two weapons were fired by the same person.
“My gut feeling is that there were three people shooting three different guns,” Tanner said, “but there could be the possibility of someone firing two different weapons.”
Authorities are still looking to identify who was responsible for injuring the 15 bar goers who were transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital with a range of injuries in order to make the appropriate charges.
In this case, the person responsible will likely be charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, a felony charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison in South Carolina, instead of attempted murder, Tanner said.
One of those victims who was shot in the back, Quinetta Clark, has since filed a lawsuit against the bar’s operator, Willie Turral, the arrested suspect and John Does 1-10, described as unknown people or entities who participated in or contributed to the shooting.
In the lawsuit, Clark alleges that “multiple individuals” discharged firearms, but does not specify how many.
Investigators are continuing to interview the injured victims while most of the physical evidence has already been processed, Tanner said.
