Barricade situation in Surfside Beach ends peacefully

A three-hour standoff with SWAT and police in Surfside Beach ended without incident on Sunday afternoon.

Police initially responded to the 700 block of Surfside Drive for reports of a home invasion at 1:43 p.m. It was first reported an armed man was inside the residence.

A standoff ensued as Surfside police, Horry County police and SWAT members responded to the area. Some of the SWAT team was dressed in full tactical gear. Police spoke via loudspeaker to the people inside asking for a sign that everybody was OK.

Dozens of people gathered near Poplar Drive and restaurants along Surfside Drive to watch the scene unfold.

At about 5 p.m., SWAT left the area and one man was taken from behind the home and put into an ambulance. Surfside Beach Police Chief Kenneth Hofmann said there was no home invasion, and the situation involved a person, Francis L. Mozingo, suffering a medical issue.

When officers entered the home they found only Mozingo inside and no weapon, Huffman said. There were no hostages.

Nobody was injured in the incident and Mozingo was taken to the hospital, Huffman said. No criminal charges are expected.

“[A] very positive ending to this,” Huffman said.

This story was originally published August 19, 2018 at 4:29 PM.