Fact check: Did someone jump off a Hilton Head bridge after Coligny Beach shooting?
Rumors have been circulating on social media that someone jumped off a bridge on Cross Island Parkway following a shooting on Coligny Beach Saturday evening.
Videos on social media showed police cars stopped on the Charles E. Fraser Bridge and officers peering down into the marsh.
The rumors are false, Lt. Daniel Allen, spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed Tuesday in an email.
“We did not have any jumpers,” Allen told The Packet in an email.
Here’s are the facts on what police were doing on the bridge.
What police were doing on the bridge
On Saturday evening at 8:21 p.m., BCSO received multiple reports of gunshots in the area of Coligny Beach near the volleyball court, Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said during a Sunday press conference.
Officers responded to the scene within 17 seconds, Tanner said. Eight shooting victims were located at the scene.
BCSO uploaded information gathered from witnesses to the Town of Hilton Head Island’s Flock camera system, Tanner said. The system flagged a suspect vehicle on Pope Avenue at 9:02 p.m.
At 9:07 p.m., deputies performed a traffic stop on the vehicle on Cross Island Parkway on the Charles E. Fraser bridge.
While the traffic stop was underway, officers witnessed objects being thrown out of the window of the car.
Police recover weapons under the bridge
Police searched the marsh and mud underneath the Fraser bridge, and recovered two weapons, Tanner said.
One firearm was also recovered from the vehicle, and a fourth was recovered from the beach, Tanner said.
All six occupants found in the vehicle were detained and interviewed at the BCSO substation on Hilton Head Island, Tanner said.
As of Tuesday, four individuals have been charged in connection with the shooting. The incident remains under active investigation.
