Alleged gunman arrested after shots sparked ‘panic’ on Coligny Beach
Police have arrested an Okatie man in connection with a stream of gunfire that sent Hilton Head Island beachgoers running for their lives at a tourist hotspot earlier this month.
The 20-year-old suspect was charged Tuesday morning with aggravated breach of peace and a violation of Hilton Head’s ordinance banning gunfire in town limits, inmate records show.
An arrest warrant alleges the gunman was on Coligny Beach around 10:40 p.m. on April 4 when he brandished a gun and fired three shots in the direction of “innocent people” standing nearby. Multiple beachgoers “fled the area in panic,” the warrant says.
Eight Beaufort County deputies responded to the beach’s entrance at Coligny Beach Park after multiple callers reported the gunfire, police wrote in an incident report. But investigators found no gunshot victims in the immediate area or in local hospitals, according to previous reporting.
The suspect’s gunfire arose from a “gathering of kids” that turned into a fight on the beach, according to Lt. Daniel Allen, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. An investigation into the circumstances of the night remained active, he said on Thursday, and the alleged gunman appeared to be the only person charged so far in connection with the incident.
Cameras helped catch the alleged shooter
The 20-year-old’s arrest warrant, which was signed by a judge on Monday, claims the suspect was identified using surveillance footage from the Coligny Beach area. The footage showed him with the same clothes and physical appearance as the gunman who was captured in a video of the shooting, police allege in the warrant.
After gathering information on the suspect, according to Allen, deputies performed a traffic stop on his vehicle and arrested him on Tuesday. Allen said police also utilized the county’s automatic license plate readers as part of the investigation.
Beaufort County judicial records show the suspect was being held on a $25,000 cash bond for the charge of aggravated breach of peace, which is a misdemeanor under South Carolina law. He remained in jail as of Thursday morning.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 8:57 AM.
