SC man who shot at police during Carolina Country Music Festival heading to prison

A Spartanburg man pleaded guilty Tuesday to shooting at police during the 2023 Carolina Country Music Festival.

Chance Benson, 20, will serve 10 years in prison concurrently for attempted murder, first-degree assault and battery and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.

The sentencing comes as this year’s CCMF event is set to begin this weekend. The music festival brings thousands of people to Myrtle Beach each year.

Officers received a report of a person with a gun near 14th Avenue North and Chester Street in Myrtle Beach on June 11, 2023.

Two Myrtle Beach Police officers and two South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents responded in one vehicle, according to the Horry County Police Department, the investigating agency.

As officers approached, a group of suspects began shooting into the vehicle and fled shortly after.

One officer sustained a non-life threatening gunshot injury.

Benson was arrested along with Tijae Staggs, also of Spartanburg, for the incident.

Staggs pleaded guilty to assault and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle on April 10, 2025. He will serve 15 years in prison.

This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 11:10 AM.