ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. — Police say several people were wounded in a shooting on a South Carolina beach that happened on Friday afternoon.
According to preliminary information that was shared by Sgt. Matthew Storen, officers were first called to a portion of the beach near Ocean Boulevard and 14th Avenue around 5:24 p.m. to reports of small fights breaking out.
About 10 officers were on the scene responding to the fights when, at some point, several shots were fired, Storen said.
During a briefing on Friday night Isle of Palms Police Chief Kevin Cornett said he hadn't seen anything like the shooting in recent memory.
"I've been living here for four years," he said. "We haven't had one in the four years that I've been here."
Authorities said previously that they knew that four people were taken to the hospital by emergency medical services for the treatment of gunshot wounds. However, by the time Chief Cornett provided an update just after 8 p.m., that number had increased to six.
Most of the victims were in their teens, Cornett said. There were also some older adults. At least one victim was believed not to have been connected to the dispute that led to the shooting.
The first four known victims had what police said were not believed to be life-threatening injuries. Police said there could be more victims who arrived at hospitals by private vehicles.
Police didn't have any details about suspects in the case but said that multiple detectives were involved in the investigation. From what they've gathered, police did not believe that there was any threat to Isle of Palms visitors or residents.
"We don't know that any of them are necessarily the individual that fired but we do have several individuals detained for weapons charges right now," Cornett said.
While the chief didn't know how many people were on the beach at the time of the gunfire, he said that hundreds would be a "fair estimate."
The beach was locked down after the shooting.
The department plans to provide additional information as it becomes available.