ST HELENA ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — A shooting occurred early Sunday morning at a crowded bar on an idyllic island. The largest gala community Four people were killed and at least 20 injured on the South Carolina coast, officials said.
There was a large crowd at Willy’s Bar and Grill on St. Helena Island when sheriff’s deputies arrived and found numerous people with gunshot wounds. The island’s estimated 5,000-plus Gullah people trace their ancestry to enslaved West Africans who once worked on rice plantations in the area before being liberated during the Civil War.
Bar owner Willie Talal was in the packed bar for a high school reunion event when he heard the “thud” of gunfire outside. He described the scene as “screams, panic and fear.”
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social platform X that many people ran to nearby businesses seeking shelter from the gunfire.
“This is a tragic and difficult event for everyone,” the statement said. “We ask for your patience as we continue to investigate this incident. Our hearts go out to all the victims and their loved ones.”
Four of the injured were taken to hospital in critical condition on Sunday afternoon. The victim’s identity has not been released.
Tural 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 fun when they heard gunshots.
“It was scary from the inside because people didn’t know what was really going on outside and people were trying to run to safety,” he said.
“I am completely heartbroken to learn of the devastating shooting,” U.S. Representative Nancy Mace wrote on X.
Willie’s Bar and Grill advertises itself as serving authentic, gala-inspired cuisine, and its website describes it as “more than just a restaurant, it’s a pillar of the community committed to serving young people in particular.”
Small enclaves of Gullah, known in some areas as Geechee, are scattered along the south-south coast from North Carolina to Florida. Scholars say that upon separation from the mainland, the Gullah people retained many of their African traditions. unique dialect You will also learn techniques such as casting net fishing and basket weaving.
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Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack contributed from Concord, New Hampshire.
