New details emerge on S.C. shooting that hurt 10 after dispute on boat

LITTLE RIVER, S.C. - The 11 people hurt in a Little River shooting Sunday night are expected to be OK, according to Horry County’s top cop.

Police Chief Kris Leonhardt told the media Tuesday morning that three of the people hurt in the shooting are still in the hospital, while eight victims have been released.

Leonhardt said that the three people still hospitalized just need a little extra care.

Officers were called around 9:15 p.m. to the Dolphin Cruise parking lot on Watson Avenue for the shooting.

A police spokesperson said the shooting stemmed from an argument during a private Memorial Day weekend gathering on a charter boat.

A flier online d a party Sunday night with a DJ on a three-hour cruise ending at 9 p.m. A woman who answered a phone number on the flier early Monday said she was distraught seeing her friends get shot but then said she didn’t want to talk any more and hung up.

Someone who answered the phone at the company that owns the boat said he didn’t want to talk to a reporter.

Leonhardt said that the boat carries roughly 120 people, most of whom were from out of town, and four crew . Leonhardt added that the shooting took place off the boat after the boat was back at the dock.

A police report released on Tuesday shows the responding officer encountered multiple people who said that several others were shot.

The report also states that the shooter was no longer on the scene. The call logs from the night reveal that police searched the dock and at one point even thought the shooter was in a houseboat, but was never found.

Leonhardt believes this kind of crime could happen anywhere and doesn’t think people should view Horry County any differently.

“We are very fortunate to have a great community, great law enforcement to dig into these cases when they do occur and hold those able that do these acts,” Leonhardt said. “So, I would again say that Horry County is a safe place to come vacation, enjoy yourself, live here and we’re going to continue that level of ability.”

Horry County Fire Rescue Chief Joseph Tanner also spoke at Tuesday’s news conference, saying crews were initially called for an unrelated head injury, then found the 10 gunshot victims at the scene. One other person was hurt during the shooting, but was not shot.

Leonhardt said he does not have any suspect information to release right now. However, he did say police currently believe there is only one shooter.

Randy Evans told a Charleston newspaper that his 25-year-old son was shot in the ankle and toe but managed to use his bathing suit as a makeshift tourniquet to help people who were more severely injured.

“The surgery was better than they expected,” Evans told The Post and Courier after his son didn’t need pins in his foot or ankle. “He’s going to be OK.”

Evans said his son told him that an argument after the boat docked turned ugly.

Investigators said they are working to identify the person or persons responsible for the shooting.

A North Myrtle Beach police officer responding to the shooting accidentally shot himself in the leg at a marina about three miles away and is in the hospital in stable condition, North Myrtle Beach spokeswoman Lauren Jessie said.

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