2 killed in shooting near Hilton Head beachfront. Suspect later found dead
Two people were shot to death near the Hilton Head Island beachfront late Thursday night, police said, and the suspected gunman later died at his home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Officials have not yet released the names of the two homicide victims, whom the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office described as a 50-year-old woman and a man who was approximately 62 years old. Preliminary evidence indicates the shooting was a “domestic-related incident,” authorities said.
Deputies received a report of gunfire around 11:30 p.m. Thursday in the area of Lark Street, located off North Forest Beach Drive in close proximity to the shoreline. Most houses in the area are registered as short-term rentals, according to an official Town of Hilton Head Island dashboard.
The two gunshot victims were found “laying on the ground outside of a residence,” the sheriff’s office said. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Learning the 52-year-old male suspect had driven away from the scene, deputies used the county’s automatic license plate reading cameras to identify his vehicle, which had returned to the suspect’s home on Promenade Street in Bluffton, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies established a perimeter around the home, which was occupied by the suspect and a 56-year-old female, the sheriff’s office said. After several hours of negotiations, the woman exited the house unharmed — but deputies entered to find the male suspect dead from “what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to the sheriff’s office alert sent Friday morning.
Bluffton police were asked to assist deputies outside the suspect’s home, which was identified in a call log as an apartment unit above the Sippin Cow Cafe & Grill.
Law enforcement was not present on Bluffton’s Promenade Street early Friday afternoon, but at least one media crew had flocked to the downtown area to capture what had been the site of the police standoff less than 12 hours earlier.
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Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the lead investigator, Sgt. Cushman, at 843-255-3722. Information can be submitted anonymously through the Crime Stoppers of Beaufort County website, the P3 Tips mobile app or by calling 844-TIPS-BFT.
This report will be updated.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 11:14 AM.
