Beaufort Co. Sheriff’s Office makes arrest in St. Helena mass shooting

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has arrested in the mass shooting at Willie’s Bar & Grill on St. Helena Island.

Anferny Devon Freeman has been charged with four counts of murder, one count of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and one count of aggravated breach of peace.

After the shooting, Freeman was given a ride by a friend and was dropped off. His girlfriend picked him up and drove him to Coastal Carolina Hospital. He suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach.

He was transferred to a hospital in Savannah and was later released. Freeman then returned to Beaufort County.

After returning to the county, deputies arrested and charged Freeman on separate charges from an incident involving an automatic weapon in September 2024.

According to the Beaufort County Detention Center records, Freeman has been in custody since October 21.

READ MORE: Mass shooting on St. Helena Island: at least 20 injured, including 4 dead

Following the shooting, business owner O.C. Welch came forward and offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who could come forward with information.

Someone did, and along with evidence gathered, he says deputies were able to charge Freeman with four counts of murder, all from a post made on Facebook.

“Somebody saw it all and somebody knew it all, but you would think they would go to the police, but I am glad they came to me,” Welch said. “He wanted that reward money, and a lot of the time, that is powerful.”

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner also confirmed that they believe there were three shooters. He said one of the shooters, 22-year-old Kashawn Glaze, was killed in the shooting.

Deputies say they were in an ongoing fight between Glaze and Freeman, and they had come in contact with one another before the shooting on October 12th.

“There was a brief encounter between the two that was not very friendly,” Sheriff P.J. Tanner said. “Then from there it went to drawing weapons and shooting.”

Sheriff Tanner also clarified that 15 people were injured in the shooting and four people died.

More charges could be brought against Freeman.

As far as the other shooter is concerned, Sheriff Tanner says they have people of interest and are still investigating, but they haven’t charged anyone else.

While all this was going on, the future of Willie’s Bar and Grill is in question.

The Sheriff’s office says they are trying to get the owner’s liquor license revoked after this incident, and have received 400 calls for service over the last 10 years.

The owner, Willie Turral, says he was shocked by the news, will contest it in court, and feels they shouldn’t be a scapegoat in this case.

Since the shooting, Willie’s Bar and Grill has not resumed operations but has served as a place for vigils and other events for members of the community.

Turral says that since the mass shooting, his focus has shifted and now looking at ways to make St. Helena better, like creating a place that provides laptops for people to use for their business or to help better their lives in the community.

“We are not going to leave the blood on the concrete, we have a plan and we are going to work hard to tell a positive story about a resilient community that made changes and fought back and took ownership of themselves,” Turral said.

That hearing for Turral’s business will take place on Monday.

View the full press conference below: