Bar operator now facing 5 lawsuits after St. Helena Island mass shooting
Three additional victims of the October mass shooting at a St. Helena Island bar are suing the now-closed venue, adding to a growing list of legal claims related to the gunfire that killed four and sent hundreds of people running for their lives.
The separate lawsuits, filed March 4 against Willie Turral Food Services, using near-identical language, accuse the bar operator of having inadequate security measures and allowing one of the alleged gunmen to become dangerously intoxicated before the shooting.
Jason Daigle, a Morgan & Morgan personal injury attorney at the megafirm’s North Charleston office, is representing the plaintiffs, Beaufort County residents Tenisha James, Brittany Smalls and Shantae Smith.
Of the three plaintiffs, one was shot three times in the chest, another was shot in the jaw and a third was “trampled in the frantic stampede” that followed the Oct. 11 gunfire outside Willie’s Bar and Grill, according to Morgan & Morgan spokesperson Mercedes Cozzubbo. All three women claim in their lawsuits that they were “seriously and permanently injured.”
A total of 20 people were shot during an alumni tailgate event at the bar around 1 a.m., just before last call. Four of the gunshot victims died, authorities said, including one of the three suspected shooters: Beaufort man Kashawn “KK” Smalls-Glaze, 22.
Deputies in November charged 27-year-old St. Helena resident Anferny Freeman with four counts of murder in connection with the shooting. Police have not yet identified a possible third shooter.
Court documents in the three newest lawsuits say Freeman arrived at Willie’s with a firearm prior to the shooting and was served excessive amounts of alcohol by bar staff. The suits allege the business was negligent in failing to monitor its employees and bartenders, not recognizing the “dangerous state” of Freeman’s intoxication and not removing him from the premises.
Former bar operator Willie Turral wrote in a text message to The Island Packet that he “strongly dispute(d)” several of the lawsuits’ claims, including one that he “personally served” Freeman alcohol.
“That simply did not occur,” he wrote on Thursday.
In a written statement to The Packet, Daigle echoed his client’s claims that Freeman’s drunkenness contributed to the shooting.
“Willie’s Bar and Grill had a responsibility to protect its patrons. Instead, our client’s lawsuits allege that they fueled a tragedy by over-serving an intoxicated and armed individual,” he wrote. “Our clients suffered life-altering injuries and trauma as a result of this alleged negligence, and we are seeking accountability and justice for these victims.”
Lawsuits pile up
Turral now faces five lawsuits related to the Oct. 11 shooting.
The first lawsuit came in December, naming Turral, the former property owners and Freeman, who had been charged the month before. In a suit filed Friday, another of Daigle’s clients made the same claims as the three most recent plaintiffs.
Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said the shooting arose from an “ongoing feud” between Glaze and Freeman. The two, along with another person, allegedly opened fire in the bar’s parking lot, prompting chaos at the venue as patrons scrambled to safety. Witnesses said they heard automatic gunfire.
In the days after the shooting, Tanner lobbied local and state officials to terminate Turral’s liquor and business licenses, arguing the bar in St. Helena’s Frogmore community was a hub for violence that generated hundreds of calls to police over a decade-long period.
Turral initially said he would fight to keep his restaurant open but eventually announced plans to transform the space into an economic development center.
“The vision for SHEDworks remains very much alive,” Turral said on Thursday, referring to his name for the company that includes an acronym for “St. Helena Economic Development.”
Turral said his access to the building on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive remains an “ongoing legal matter.” He sued his landlords in January, alleging they had unlawfully changed the locks and denied him access to his property inside. That lawsuit was dismissed two days after being filed, according to Beaufort County court records.
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 1:20 PM.
