Everything we know about the July 4 shooting on Hilton Head Island
Eight people were injured when gunfire erupted near the volleyball court at Coligny Beach on the evening of July 4, sending Independence Day crowds running for cover. Four teenagers from St. Helena Island have been charged, and on Thursday, the town of Hilton Head will hold a public meeting to address safety concerns.
Here are key takeaways:
- Multiple calls reported shots fired at 8:21 p.m. Saturday near the public beach access volleyball court, with deputies arriving within 17 seconds because of heavy holiday police presence, Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said at a press conference.
- The gunfire stemmed from a dispute between two groups of men and women ages 17 to 19 that escalated into a fistfight, with shots erupting shortly after the first punch was thrown, Tanner told reporters at the Sunday briefing.
- Jayden Hawes, 18, Quazeir Davis, 17, and Marcello Royal, 17, face charges of attempted murder, aggravated breach of peace and weapon possession during a violent crime, while Christopher Capers, 17, is charged with accessory after the fact.
- Adriana Moriates, 18, was relaxing by the Coligny Plaza fountain with her family when the shots rang out — “We were like, ‘Were those fireworks?’ And then we looked up and everyone was just running,” she recalled of the terrifying scene.
- Mayor Alan Perry said he has been “sick to my stomach” since the shooting and vowed action: “When these thugs come in from out of town, we need to push them right back out,” Perry said at the Sunday press conference.
- Capers, charged with accessory after the fact, was released from the Beaufort County Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon.
- AI-powered Verkada cameras that can pan 360 degrees, zoom up to 32x and use facial recognition captured the entire incident on video and helped deputies identify the suspect vehicle, leading to a traffic stop on Cross Island Parkway.
- Four weapons have been recovered, including two thrown from the suspect vehicle into the marsh below the Cross Island bridge and one found on the beach that had been converted to fully automatic capabilities.
- The Hilton Head Town Council will hold a special meeting July 9 at 10 a.m. at Town Hall to discuss “public safety matters related to law enforcement services,” with residents required to file a public comment form at least two hours before the meeting.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
Laura Finaldi
The Island Packet