An 18-year-old and a 16-year-old have been arrested in connection with the April 7 shooting on the beach at the Isle of Palms, but police aren’t sure they fired the weapons that injured six people.
At a press conference April 8, IOP Police Chief Kevin Cornett said the 16-year-old has been charged with possession of a stolen firearm, while the 18-year-old was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon. Cornett said he didn’t know if either of the pistols had been fired during the Friday evening melee.
The older suspect has been identified as Shawn Alexander Martin-Goods.
Six people, including five juveniles and a woman in her 30s, were shot. Four were transported by ambulance to the Medical University of South Carolina Trauma Center in Charleston, while two others apparently were driven to the hospital in private vehicles. At the Saturday morning press conference, Cornett said all but the woman had been released from the hospital.
The IOP chief urged anyone with information about the shooting to call 843-529-3750.
Isle of Palms Mayor Phillip Pounds and Cornett both praised work of the IOP Police and Fire Departments for their efforts to control the situation and provide medical care for those who were injured. Similar sentiments were expressed by members of the IOP Council at an emergency meeting held shortly after the press conference ended. Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano called the shooting “unacceptable.”
“People who were on that beach know what happened. We need them to come forward,” she said.
Cornett told the Council that his department would be leading the investigation, with help from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He said he didn’t know yet whether the victims were involved in the altercations that were taking place on the beach in front of the Sea Cabins or whether they were innocent bystanders.
Cornett said his department had received information that a large number of high school students would be at the beach Friday and that officers were already on hand at 5:24 p.m. when two separate fights broke out. Gunfire erupted while they were trying to break up those altercations.
“It just breaks my heart to have juveniles involved in this activity,” he commented.