Investigators are still trying to piece together what led to a fatal shooting in front of a popular oceanfront motel in Myrtle Beach.
The South Carolina destination is always buzzing during warmer months, and especially holidays like Memorial Day. However, what began as a day of fun ended in startling tragedy.
Police say that at around 11:00 pm on Saturday evening, at least one unidentified individual opened fire at the Bermuda Sands motel. The incident was witnessed by a number of vacationing tourists, who looked on in horror.
In the aftermath, it was determined that three individuals had been killed.
Horry County deputy coroner Darris Fowler identified the victims as 22-year-old Sandy Gaddis and 21-year-old Devonte Dantzler of Summerville, S.C. and 28-year-old Jamie Williams of Ladson.
3 dead, 1 injured in shooting at Myrtle Beach motel – latest info, video, pics here: http://t.co/t78OWzUIFx pic.twitter.com/rylMfPCFaa
— WMBFNews.com (@wmbfnews) May 25, 2014
A fourth victim, who has not yet been identified, was reportedly hospitalized.
While the investigation into what caused the shooting is ongoing, a witness named George Covington told Sun News that he had seen several persons fighting in front of the hotel shortly before the shooting began.
Said Covington, “At first, everyone was standing around to see who was going to win the fight.”
Suddenly, guns were drawn and what started out as a physical altercation devolved into a violent shoot-out. It is not clear from Covington’s eyewitness statement whether or not at least one of the victims had opened fire.
One witness filmed the frantic minutes that followed the shooting and posted the video on YouTube:
Police say that the incident was unusual for the location, which at worst is the site of motorcycle accidents brought on by recklessness.
Authorities admitted that there are no suspects in custody at the moment.
#Shooting in #Myrtle Beach on Ocean Blvd pic.twitter.com/U6voeeJd5X
— Legal Beach Bikinis (@RealBikiniJoe) May 25, 2014
“We’ve got detectives working on it around the clock,” said Myrtle Beach Police Capt. David Knipes. Knipes would not say if law enforcement officials had identified any possible motive for the shooting. However, he did feel that the killings were not a random incident.
Image via YouTube