Myrtle Beach area man shot in the chest while eating at lunch table, cops say

Police officers found a man shot in the chest on Figure 8 Road in Horry County on Sunday afternoon — a victim they say was struck as he sat at the lunch table.

Horry County police charged Saulo Ventura with two counts of attempted murder and possession a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

At about 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, officers went to Figure 8 Road for a reported shooting. They saw two men walking and one was covered in blood and shouting someone tried to shoot him.

A witness told police that a man was dying in a nearby mobile home. When officers went to that residence, they found the victim bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to a police report. EMS arrived and took the victim to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center.

Witnesses said there was a fight at a Figure 8 Road residence involving several men, according to the report. One witness said Ventura had his brother — the man police initially saw walking covered in blood — in a headlock. That witness tried to break up the fight.

Another witness said a man in a gray car pulled up. A man tried to get into the car with a gun. But, others gathered around him so he fired shots in the air.

The investigation showed the person shot in the chest did not have any part in the fight, according to the report. The victim was sitting at a table, eating when he was struck through the wall by a bullet.

This story was originally published July 23, 2018 at 6:30 PM.