Shooting at packed South Carolina bar kills 4 and injures at least 20 others
ST. HELENA ISLAND, SC — ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — A mass shooting Sunday morning at a crowded bar on an idyllic island considered the largest Gullah community on coastal South Carolina left four people dead and at least 20 injured, officials said.
A large crowd was at Willie’s Bar and Grill on St. Helena Island when sheriff’s deputies arrived and found numerous people suffering from gunshot wounds. At least 5,000 Gullah living on the island are estimated to trace their ancestry to West African slaves who once worked on the region’s rice plantations before being freed by the civil war.
Bar owner Willie Turral was inside the establishment, which was crowded for a high school alumni event, when he heard “bursts” of gunshots outside. He described the scene: “Screams, panic and fear.”
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted on the social platform X that many people rushed to nearby businesses to shelter from the shooting.
“This is a tragic and difficult incident for everyone,” the statement said. “We ask for your patience as we continue our investigation into this incident. Our thoughts are with all the victims and their loved ones.”
Among the injured, four were in critical condition in hospital on Sunday afternoon. The identities of the victims have not been released.
Turral said the bar was hosting an event for alumni of Battery Creek High School in Beaufort, about 10 miles northwest of St. Helena Island. He said people were having a good time when the shots were heard.
“It was scary from the inside,” he said, “people didn’t know what was really happening outside, people were trying to get to safety.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace posted on X that she was “COMPLETELY HEARTBROKEN to learn of the devastating shooting.”
Willie’s Bar and Grill bills itself as serving authentic Gullah-inspired cuisine and describes itself on its website as “not just a restaurant, but a community pillar committed to giving back, especially to our youth.”
Smaller Gullah enclaves, called Geechee in some areas, are scattered along the southeast coast from North Carolina to Florida. Researchers say the continent’s separation allowed the Gullah to retain much of their African heritage, including a unique dialect and skills such as net fishing and basket weaving.
___
Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack contributed from Concord, New Hampshire.
