Police search for suspects after shooting in SC town kills man, injures 5 children
Yemassee’s police chief is calling on the community to help investigators narrow in on suspects in a weekend shooting that killed one resident and injured several other people, including a child as young as 8, hours after the town’s large annual festival.
“We’ve got to hunt them down, and we’re going to do just that,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said in a Monday news conference.
Willie Roberts, 33, of Yemassee, was identified by officials as the person who died in the shooting.
The seven others injured included a 31-year-old, a 22-year-old, two 14-year-olds, two 12-year-olds and an 8-year-old, according to town officials. One of the 12-year-olds was airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston to undergo surgery while the others were transported to area hospitals in Hampton and Beaufort counties.
Some of the victims were from North Carolina and had gotten into town just a couple hours prior to the shooting for the festival, he said.
It’s possible there were other people caught in the crossfire but did not meet with police, Alexander added.
‘Trickle effect’ shooting
Around 400 people were at Snappy Foods convenience store for a DJ party after the Yemassee Shrimp Festival late Saturday night into early Sunday morning before the shooting, Alexander said. Fifteen officers — a majority of those working that night — were at the party as a “deterrence” for crime.
Around 12:15 a.m. Sunday, shots were fired about two plots over from the party at the corner of St. Clair Street and Yemassee Highway.
Alexander said the gunfire was caused by a “trickle effect” that began with one argument.
“From my understanding, there were like 10 different fights that happened at that time then one person started shooting, then two people started shooting,” he said. “We had three or four people out there shooting.”
Three officers saw the suspect shooting, Alexander said, but held their own fire because they’re trained not to shoot into open crowds. Other nearby law enforcement agencies from Hampton, Beaufort and Jasper counties responded to the scene.
Although the investigation has garnered some information and evidence, Alexander said bystanders at the party need to make official statements with police to help aid the case.
“Word of mouth is not enough,” he said. “We need someone with some courage to put themselves in the situation as if it was their 12-year-old, 8-year-old child that got shot and put something in paper or face to face with us so we can get an arrest warrant for this individual.”
Alexander confirmed the department has leads on who was shooting and that they were likely from out of town but declined to comment further citing the pending investigation.
The Snappy Foods and surrounding area is somewhere folks tend to congregate, he said, but noted there’s not typically problems with gun violence in that area of town.
“I want to extend my deepest condolences to those who have been effected by this tragedy,” Yemassee Mayor Colin Moore said. “I’ve been thinking about it all weekend, and I’ve got confidence in the chief and the Yemassee Police Department that it will be solved and our citizens will be safe. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep Yemassee as safe as it’s always been.”
The investigation is ongoing with assistance from the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office and S.C. Law Enforcement Division. Anyone with information on the shooting can contact the Yemassee Police Department at 843-589-3126. Cash rewards are available for information leading to an arrest.
Yemassee is a town straddling both Hampton and Beaufort counties with a population of approximately 1,200.
This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Police search for suspects after shooting in SC town kills man, injures 5 children."
