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Two children and an adult were injured May 1 when a man drove a car at a high rate of speed across the parking lot and into the playground at Sunrise Presbyterian Church on Sullivan’s Island.
Justin Collin Adams, 36, of Mauldin, South Carolina, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count of assault and battery in the first degree, according to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Department. He fled the scene on foot and was apprehended several hours after the incident in a boat docked behind a home in the 3200 block of Jasper Boulevard. As of May 2, he was being held at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston.
According to Sullivan’s Island Police Chief Glenn Meadows, officers from his department were dispatched to a call at 12:46 p.m. in the 2700 block of I’On Avenue concerning a person who was armed with a knife. Moments later, a call from the Charleston County Consolidated Dispatch Center indicated that the suspect had left the scene in a black sedan. A second emergency call reported that a black sedan had struck several victims at the church, which is located at 3222 Middle St.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, Adams drove the 2018 black Chevrolet Malibu across the parking lot and into the playground area, where it struck a 12-year-old boy, who was transported to a local hospital. The vehicle, still traveling at a high rate of speed, “appeared to chase the children as they ran,” according to the Department’s description of offense report. The car then struck a teacher, who was thrown over the hood and roof of the vehicle. Adams apparently continued his rampage on a sidewalk where children were running for cover and struck a 10-year-old boy, who was pinned under the Malibu. With the car’s airbags deployed, Adams chose to escape on foot.
According to the church’s newsletter, one child was treated at the scene, a second child was released from a local hospital and the adult had broken bones and was scheduled for surgery May 2.
Shortly after the incident at the church, with the suspect on the loose and believed to be armed, Sullivan’s Island Town Administrator Joe Henderson issued a “shelter in place” warning to island residents. Jasper Boulevard and Middle Street eastbound were closed from Station 32 to the Breach Inlet Bridge.
“An armed assailant is at large, suspected in the area wearing red shirt, dark shorts, heavyset white male, balding with facial hair; last seen on foot on Jasper Boulevard between Station 30 and Station 32 Street,” the warning said.
Meadows pointed out that law enforcement officers from the Sullivan’s Island and IOP Police Departments, along with fire and rescue personnel from both islands, responded immediately, and a search for the suspect was launched while emergency responders aided the victims. Spotted by a Sheriff’s Department helicopter, Adams was located and apprehended at 5:53 p.m.
Meadows said more than 130 officers from a long list of agencies participated in the operation, including the FBI; Department of Homeland Security; National Park Service; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; U.S. Marshals Service; South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Department of Natural Resources and State Ports Authority; Charleston County Emergency Management, Radio Communications, Fire and Rescue Service, School District Security and Emergency Management and Sheriff’s Department; College of Charleston Department of Public Safety; and police departments from Sullivan’s Island, Mount Pleasant, Charleston and Isle of Palms.
IOP Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Matt Storen said 13 people with his department were on hand to help, “everyone from the chief on down to the animal patrol officer.” IOP’s drone was employed to help with the search for the suspect.
