I guess bad shit happens everywhere. Over the last few years we've seen several incidents of flash mob parties that draw hundreds to thousands of people, usually young adults, to venues and beaches where the intent is far from family type activities. It's become a thing, and New Jersey has seen it recently as the summer season kicks off. And with these "mobs" comes bad things, vandalism, theft, looting, violence, and even death.
Above is a picture of Coligny Beach in Hilton Head. It's a popular place where the water meets the beach meets a little touristy area of shops, restaurants, and bars. It gets busy as there's a lot of condos and hotels in that area. And for locals, and for those that call home off-island, it's a place to go where the parking and beaches are free. Hilton Head, like the Jersey Shore, is a tourist destination, and I can tell you from what I'm hearing, it ain't like it used to be, kind of like the Jersey Shore. Over developed, over populated, and over visited. Like smart New Jerseyans people in the Lowcountry know to avoid the traffic and crowds during the silly seasons.
So while mass shootings are a common thing these days, well how sick is that, for some, and for some places, these type of things, "Just don't happen here". Well at 7 PM last night, on July 4th, gunfire erupted on the beach between two groups of people. Seven were hit by gunfire.
Some bullets found their targets, other's buried in the sand, and the rest just petering out at the end of their trajectory. And at 7 PM the beaches were full of vacationer's and families enjoying the sun sets that sets behind them. Some in the water, kids playing in the sand, people playing volleyball, and some at the venues near the beach. The victim count could have been far worse. And needless to say, for those that were there, the incident was traumatic.
The Beaufort County Sheriff Office Crime Scene was out at first light with metal detectors looking for bullets in the sand, while others were looking for those that fired the weapons, nearly killing other people. The Sherifs Office has video monitors up and down the beach and used that technology to quickly apprehend and charge four of the suspects. Charges range from possession of a deadly weapon to attempted murder.
Interestingly, after the arrests were made and they released the mugshots and the ages of those involved, three were 17 years of age. Up here in the northeast names are held when the suspects are younger then 18, I wonder if that's a southern thing. I'm not sure how South Carolina's courts handle attempted murders but I know if it happened in NJ or NY they'd most likely be out on bail by now.
But what I found most interesting is that Hilton Head doesn't have it's own police force. Paid fire and EMS, yes, but the area is protected by the counties sheriff's department. Hilton Head has a year round population of 37,000 residents, and swells to over 150,000 during the silly seasons. Some say that number can reach 300,000. And no local police department?
Many of the properties on Hilton head Island are gated and have their own security divisions. And those security guards patrol and carry weapons just like municipal, county, or state officers do. During our tours of several properties we've seen these officers, and I have to say they're intimidating. These are not your friendly security guards patrolling around in a little white car with a light on top, they look like they are in the military, often carrying long guns in open areas like the tennis courts or near the beaches in the plantations they cover. And all are wearing bullet proof vests.
But for the open and tourist areas is a county sheriff's office enough? I think of Long Branch here in New Jersey. How would that town, of 33,000 people, tripled in the summer, do during these wilding events without a municipal police department only relying on the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office?
Times are changing. People, well we've already changed, and a lot of us suck. And as we've seen bad shit can happen anywhere at any time. Don't taxpayers and tourists deserve to be protected properly, and that's from a police, fire, or EMS perspective. The incident last night happened near the entrance to the beach just a stones throw from the touristy commercial area. Do you think this wold have gone down if there were cops stationed there or on a walking post? I would think not.
I guess the grass is not always greener, at least down south, or really anywhere these days.
