|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
LITTLE RIVER, S.C. (BFMG) — A U.S. Navy sailor arrested last Thursday in Illinois in connection with a mass shooting over Memorial Day weekend that left 10 people wounded in a coastal South Carolina community has been extradited and booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Horry County, SC.
Shawon Shamarion Williams, 19, was taken into custody by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and booked into the Lake County Jail north of Chicago. He is assigned to Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago, according to Cmdr. Jessica L. McNulty, spokesperson for the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery according to CBS News.
The shooting unfolded in Little River, South Carolina, a town near the North Carolina state line, after a private charter boat had docked. Cellphone video captured the chaotic scene as people exited the vessel and gunfire erupted.
“We got shot coming off the boat. We were on the pier,” said Jeremy Evans, one of the victims who was shot in the leg. “When I got hit, I took my shorts off and wrapped it around my wound. We were involved in a mass shooting. Ten of us got sprayed on this deck.”
Evans, who posted video updates during his recovery, responded to news of the arrest by calling for justice.
Civil Rights Attorney, Tyler Bailey noted in a press conference on Wednesday alongside his client Jeremy Evans that this was emotional for Evans as he was back on the scene of what should have been a good weekend that turned into a war zone.
He announced that his office is conducting an independant investigation into the mass shooting where multiple shots went off and ten people were hit including Evans who suffered an injury to his right ankle, penetrating a main artery.
Bailey said that his investigation has revealed that firearms made it onto the boat without certified security although there may have been a man posing as security patting people down. He also says alcoholic beverages were being sold without checking identifications with minors present on the boat. He is calling for full justice and accountability for anyone who played a role and civil responsibility for those who disregarded the safety of others.
According to South Carolina authorities, Williams is expected to be charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. McNulty said the sailor, a hull maintenance technician seaman assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Great Lakes, was transferred into the custody of local authorities.
In addition to Williams’ arrest, a juvenile also charged in connection to the shooting appeared before a family court judge in South Carolina. The juvenile was denied bond and remanded to the custody of the state Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).
“He started shooting and running backwards,” Evans recalled, describing the moment shots rang out.
Williams was booked on a fugitive of justice charge and extradited to South Carolina where he is expected to appear before a Horry County judge and charged in the case.
