There was more than 1 shooter in Little River shooting, lawyer said
There was more than one person responsible for the Little River mass shooting, said a lawyer representing the victims.
Brooke Wright, of Wright Injury Law, is representing four victims from the May 25 shooting. She has also spoken to a number of eyewitnesses at the scene of the shooting.
The shooting took place after a ticketed boat party hosted by “Jackie O” that left from docks near Watson Avenue in Little River. Shots rang out after the boat docked and passengers were exiting. Eleven people went to the hospital and 10 had gunshot wounds, The Sun News reported.
Last Thursday, Horry County Police charged Shawon Shamarion Williams, 19, with multiple counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection with the shooting. Wright said she believes another person also discharged his weapon.
“I believe that there were two shooters, because definitely two guns were observed by eyewitnesses at the scene. There’s a video of this other man, who is not the one in custody, firing shots, and then at least one eyewitness said that they saw (Williams) fire shots,” Wright said.
It is unclear if the Horry County Police Department is investigating a second suspect.
“We are still actively investigating and other charges or arrests could occur,” said county spokesperson Mikayla Moskov in a text to The Sun News.
Witnesses also told Wright that everyone except friends and family of the hosts was patted down and searched before entering the boat. Wright believes the two people who allegedly shot at the crowd were not searched.
People at the party bought tickets for the event, which included food and alcoholic drinks. Event attendees told Wright they saw Williams and the second alleged shooter drinking even though the two men are under the age of 21.
While no one died in the shooting, it caused “life-altering” injuries for the victims. One of Wright’s victims was scheduled to be deployed with the U.S. Air Force in July but can no longer serve.
Wright is gathering facts about the case and looking to pursue injury claims and cover the cost of medical bills. She has reached out to organizers and Hurricane Fleet, the company that owns the boat. Hurricane Fleet did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
“Since (Hurricane Fleet was) in control of the boat, they are responsible for providing reasonable security measures to prevent any reasonable risk of harm or crime, such as this shooting,” Wright said. “Unfortunately, since there had been so many prior shootings nearby in Horry County, that certainly created a foreseeable risk of harm and of another shooting.”
The boat the party took place on is based in Calabash, North Carolina, but sailed to South Carolina for the chartered party. Harold Wiegel, the CFO of Myrtle Beach Watersports, said Hurricane Fleet parks other boats at the Watson Avenue docks and will sometimes sail other boats out from the docks, the Sun News reported.
This story was originally published June 2, 2025 at 12:40 PM.
