Beaufort County Sheriff gives July 4 Coligny Beach shooting investigation update
HILTON HEAD, S.C. (WTOC) - Friday morning, Beaufort County Sheriff PJ Tanner is joining Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone for a press conference updating the community on the ongoing investigation into the July 4 Coligny Beach shooting.
Previous coverage on Hilton Head Coligny Beach shooting
Eight people were shot on the Fourth of July at Coligny Beach after a fight broke out between two groups in the public beach access area, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office communications center said it received multiple calls reporting gunshots near Coligny Beach shortly after 8:20 p.m. that night.
Since the shooting, seven people have been arrested.
SEE: Wanted Hilton Head Island shooting suspect arrested in Jasper County
SEE: Coligny Beach shooting: Sixth arrest made in July 4 investigation
SEE: Coligny Beach shooting: Fifth arrest made in July 4 investigation
SEE: Four arrested in July 5 shooting investigation
The seven arrested include:
Jayden Hawes
- Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
- Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
- Four counts of second-degree assault and battery
- Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Quazeir Davis (17 at the time of the shooting)
- Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
- Four counts of second-degree assault and battery
- Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
- Possession of a firearm under age 18
- Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Marcello Royal (17 at the time of the shooting)
- Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
- Four counts of second-degree assault and battery
- Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
- Possession of a firearm under age 18
- Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Andre Green
- Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
- Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
- Four counts of second-degree assault and battery
- Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Jacob Johnson
- Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
- Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
- Four counts of second-degree assault and battery
- Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Christopher Capers
- Accessory after the fact
Amarion Riley
- Possession of a machine gun
- Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
Sheriff gives update Friday morning
Beaufort County’s grand jury handed down indictments against Jayden Hawes, Quazeir Davis, Marcello Royal, Andre Greene, Jacob Johnson, Christopher Capers, and Amarion Riley.
Hawes, Davis, Royal, Johnson, and Greene are scheduled for a bond hearing Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Beaufort County Courthouse; the other two have already bonded out.
Prosecutors said they are no longer pursuing attempted murder charges, noting the only intended targets were other shooters.
“We did not present indictments for attempted murder because that statute, as it is currently written, only vindicates the harm done to intended targets,” said Solicitor Duffie Stone. “In this case, that applies only to other shooters and not the innocent bystanders who were shot in the field of fire. We had the choice of calling the shooters victims or defendants. We chose defendants.”
Watch press conference below:
Hawes, Davis, Green, Johnson, and Royal face multiple weapons and assault-related charges (including possession of a weapon during a violent crime and multiple assault and battery counts).
Solicitor Stone credited the Sheriff’s Office’s investigative resources and technology for helping move the case forward.
“What has allowed us to go quicker in this matter is, again, the technology used by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office,” Stone said. “It was the Sheriff’s Office camera that was on the beach at the time and caught everything on video that helps us not only move forward quicker, but most importantly, with certainty.”
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