Six people were injured in a shooting at a beach near Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday afternoon, during a “Senior Skip Day” event.
Five of the injured individuals were teenagers between 15 and 16 years old, while the sixth was a woman in her mid-30s, Isle of Palms Police Department Chief Kevin Cornett said at a press conference on Saturday.
Two fights broke out among the large crowd that had gathered on the beach for the “Senior Skip Day” event, before several shots were fired, the police chief said.
Cornett touted his officers’ rapid response to the situation, noting that the Isle of Palms Police Department already had people on the beach prior to the shooting.
“The moment we saw a crowd gather we deployed resources to the beach just to make sure things didn’t get out of hand,” Cornett said.
“I can’t stress enough how impressed I was with our team and their immediate actions to move in, stop the threat, and to render aid to those who were injured,” he added.
Police have arrested a 16-year-old for possession of a stolen firearm and unlawful carry of a firearm and an 18-year-old for possession of a firearm but could not confirm whether either were involved in the shooting.
While Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano commended officers’ response to the shooting, she repeatedly called the event “unacceptable.”
“Here we are, once again, talking to the public about a mass shooting in Charleston, in the Charleston area,” Graziano said at Saturday’s press conference. “This is simply unacceptable.”
“There are people that were on that beach yesterday that know what happened. There are parents that know these kids were on the beach and know what happened,” she added. “These parents need to have a serious conversation with these kids, and if they have information that will help us get more guns off the street, they need to call that tip line and let us know.”