8 injured, 4 charged after Hilton Head beach shooting

July 7, 2026

1–2 minutes

Summary

Eight adults were injured near Coligny Beach on July 4, and four suspects have been charged, authorities said.

Why this matters

The shooting disrupted a busy holiday gathering area on Hilton Head and remains under investigation. The case also shows how surveillance cameras and rapid police response shaped the early arrests.

Eight adults were injured and four suspects were charged after gunfire near Coligny Beach on July 4, Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said Sunday.

At a July 5 press conference at the sheriff’s Hilton Head substation, Tanner said dispatchers received multiple calls at 8:21 p.m. reporting shots fired near the public beach access volleyball court at Coligny.

Tanner said the incident began with two groups of men and women of various ages. A dispute escalated into a fistfight between one person from each group, and gunfire began shortly after the first punches were thrown. Tanner said video from Verkada surveillance cameras did not make the initial cause of the dispute clear.

Deputies arrived within 17 seconds of the first calls, Tanner said, aided by the larger law enforcement and security presence for the holiday.

Several victims were shot multiple times, Tanner said. One person suffered a grazing wound to the head, another was shot in the neck, and another was shot three times, twice in the stomach and once in the thigh. Some victims declined medical treatment, he said.

Tanner said the incident was not a mass shooting, saying that “depends on who the intended target is.”

He said the town’s Flock camera system helped investigators identify suspects. A suspected vehicle was detected at 9:02 p.m. on Pope Avenue, and officers stopped it at 9:07 p.m. on the Charles Fraser Bridge. Six people in the vehicle were later interviewed and detained at the sheriff’s Hilton Head substation. Tanner said officers saw items thrown from the vehicle during the stop.

Jayden Hawes, 18, Quazeir Davis, 17, and Marcello Royal, 17, were charged with attempted murder, aggravated breach of peace, and weapons charges tied to a violent crime. Davis and Royal also were charged with unlawful possession of a weapon. Christopher Capers, 17, was charged as an accessory after the fact.

Four weapons were recovered, Tanner said, including one found on the beach that had been converted to fire automatically.

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South Carolina

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Santee Cooper said June 26 that it expects to know by the end of March 2028 whether a proposed $2.7 billion sale of two partially built nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer plant in Fairfield County will move forward.

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Santee Cooper said it would use the proceeds to remove reactor-related debt from customers’ power bills. The utility would also keep an ownership stake of up to 25%, giving customers access to power from the reactors if they are completed.

Cole Price, executive vice president of member services at Central Electric Power Cooperative, said leaders of South Carolina’s electric cooperatives were “cautiously optimistic.”

Santee Cooper and the now-defunct South Carolina Electric & Gas began building the reactors in early 2013 near Jenkinsville. The project faced delays, higher costs, and fraud that led to multiple federal convictions of former executives.

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US

Appeals court limits immigrant detention without bond

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A federal appeals court ruled July 2 that immigrants subject to the Trump administration’s mandatory detention policy must receive a bond hearing within 90 days.

In a 2-1 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that immigrants who previously crossed a border illegally could not be held indefinitely without bond. One judge said 30 days would be a better limit. The dissenting judge said no-bond detention was appropriate and called the policy “constitutionally sound.”

The ruling applies in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, which have some of the country’s largest detention centers and often receive transfers from other states.

“Since ICE moves people it has detained so quickly and frequently, isolating them from their lawyers, families and support systems, many New Yorkers are held at detention centers in these states,” said Reed Dunlea, a spokesperson for the New York Immigration Coalition.

The American Immigration Council, which was a party in the case, said the case involved three longtime Texas residents with no criminal history and U.S. citizen children, all detained during traffic stops.

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The immigrant detention population peaked in January at more than 70,000 people, then fell to about 60,000 in April. Between March and May, the share of immigration arrests that led to detention dropped from 38% last year to 17%. Fewer than 30% of immigrants detained in April had criminal convictions, including traffic offenses and immigration crimes; the rest had only immigration violations or pending criminal charges.
SC lead

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A federal appeals court said Tuesday that a group of students, educators, an author, and the South Carolina NAACP can continue challenging a state law that bars certain race-related lessons in schools.

The lawsuit, filed in January 2025, was dismissed in September by U.S. District Judge Sherri Lydon, who said the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue. Tuesday’s ruling sends the case back to district court and gives the group another chance to seek an order blocking enforcement of the law while the case proceeds.

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In 2023, lawmakers passed a bill to remove one provision that both parties said could be confusing, create a statewide complaint process, and specify that the ban did not apply to “historically accurate” discussions of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, segregation, racial lynchings, and other oppression based on race, sex, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, or region. The bill failed in 2024 after the House and Senate did not agree on a final version.

The lawsuit said the law led the state to drop an Advanced Placement African American Studies course and contributed to the removal of Ibram Kendi’s book “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” from school classrooms and libraries. A librarian and a teacher also said they changed lesson plans to avoid risking their jobs.

Department lawyers argued the law did not cause the course or book to be removed. Court filings said the state cited a curriculum review in ending the AP course, while a Lexington County School District 3 board removed Kendi’s book over “inaccuracies and lack of objectivity.” But the appeals court said officials in both cases also cited the law, making the challenge valid.

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Europe

Russian strikes kill 3 in Ukraine, hit Kyiv again

In Russia, Saratov Gov. Roman Busargin said a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person, injured several others, and damaged unspecified industrial facilities.

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Russian overnight attacks killed three people across Ukraine on Wednesday, including one in Kyiv, where explosions were heard for a second straight night.

Several explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Kyiv, before authorities issued an air raid alert. Such alerts typically come before strikes, giving civilians time to seek shelter.

In Kyiv, one woman was killed and two other people were injured, according to city administration head Tymur Tkachenko. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the attack damaged administrative buildings, warehouses, a garage complex, and several city trams.

In Kharkiv, two people were killed and 20 others were injured in a series of overnight strikes, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

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NC lead

Stein signs N.C. budget with raises, tax cuts

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North Carolina enacted its first comprehensive state budget in more than 1,000 days after Gov. Josh Stein signed a $34 billion spending plan Tuesday.

Republican legislative leaders finalized the budget last week after roughly a year of negotiations, with disputes over issues including the state income tax rate and funding for a new children’s hospital in Apex. State agencies had been operating under budgets approved in 2023.

The plan includes 3% raises for all state employees, average teacher raises of 8%, raises of up to 17% for some law enforcement officials, and a reduction in the personal income tax rate from 3.99% this year to 3.49% next year.

Stein said the plan made “meaningful investments in our community colleges, the DMV, childcare, and summer food programs for our kids. These are real wins, worthy of celebration and worthy of my signature.”

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World Politics

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US

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A towel and screwdriver recovered in the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s killing contained DNA from suspect Tyler Robinson and his former romantic partner and roommate, Lance Twiggs, investigators testified this week.

Robinson, 23, is accused of fatally shooting Kirk, 31, during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. Prosecutors are seeking to show probable cause at a preliminary hearing that began Monday and is expected to last all week.

Sgt. Jennifer Faumuina of the State Bureau of Investigations testified Tuesday that investigators recovered a screwdriver from the roof of the campus’ Losee Center, where authorities allege Robinson fired the shot. She said investigators also found a Mauser 98 bolt-action rifle wrapped in a dark towel in nearby woods. The rifle had been modified to fire .30-06 rounds, consistent with bullet fragments recovered during Kirk’s autopsy, she testified.

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Later Tuesday, FBI forensic analyst Amanda Bakker testified that Robinson was likely the majority contributor in mixed DNA samples found on both items. Twiggs was identified as the minority contributor.

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Earlier Tuesday, David Hull of the Utah Department of Public Safety returned to the stand as prosecutors played surveillance video they said showed Robinson moving around campus before and after the shooting and arriving and leaving in his Dodge Challenger.

During Bakker’s testimony, prosecutor Ryan McBride objected several times to defense questioning, arguing it went well “beyond the scope of determining probable cause.” Judge Tony Graf Jr. later asked defense attorney Michael Burt how much longer he planned to continue that line of questioning. Burt said he had one more question. “I’ll hold them to that,” McBride said, prompting laughter in the courtroom.

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Military & National Security, North Carolina

Marines honored after Wilmington nightclub shooting

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Two U.S. Marines were recognized last month for providing emergency aid after a June 6 shooting at Unhinged Nightclub in Wilmington, North Carolina, where one person was killed.

Cpl. Johnny Tamayo and Cpl. Emily Martinez, both assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, respectively, according to a Marine Corps release.

The Marines had recently returned from a 10-month deployment and were out with friends when gunfire began inside the nightclub.

Tamayo was upstairs when the shooting started.

“As soon as the gunshots rang out, I already knew what they were,” Tamayo said in the release. “I looked down and saw the victim at the bottom of the staircase. Everybody else had already run out, so I instinctively ran down there.”

According to the release, Tamayo treated the victim, looked for other casualties and possible threats, directed someone to call 911, and used towels to try to control bleeding from a gunshot wound to the victim’s neck.

Martinez was outside when the shots were fired and realized Tamayo had not left the building with the crowd. She went back inside and helped provide emergency aid until police arrived, according to the release.

The victim later died from his injuries.

“They executed exactly how a United States Marine should, and I’m immensely proud of them,” Master Sgt. James Boles, 3/6 communications chief, said in the release.

Both Marines said their response reflected their training.
Virginia

Route 1, I-95 projects may affect Quantico commutes

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Construction on Route 1 south of Prince William County near Marine Corps Base Quantico could affect commutes this week, according to Virginia Department of Transportation traffic alerts published by River Country News.

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US

United must face suit over windowless window seats

The lawsuits seek millions of dollars in damages on behalf of more than 1 million passengers.

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United Airlines must face a proposed class-action lawsuit after a federal judge rejected the airline’s bid to dismiss claims from passengers who said they paid extra for window seats that had no windows.

The lawsuit, which also names Delta Air Lines, alleged the airlines failed to disclose during booking that some window seats on Boeing 737s, 757s, and Airbus A321s sit beside blank cabin walls instead of windows.

U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco rejected United’s argument that “window seat” referred only to a seat’s location, not to an outside view. He also rejected United’s argument that federal law barred the claims, saying the airline’s ticketing terms, boarding passes, and reservation screens promised window seats to customers who paid for them.

“As part of our regular review of united.com and the United App to enhance the customer experience, in 2025 we added more detail to our seat selection process, so customers can have more information about what to expect when they choose a seat.,” United said.

Delta is also seeking dismissal of a separate lawsuit against it.

Passengers filed the proposed class actions in August, suing United in federal court in San Francisco and Delta in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

In November, attorney Carter Greenbaum, who at the time represented plaintiffs against United and Delta, told Reuters that United’s position was “contrary to the reasonable expectations of countless passengers who unknowingly paid extra money for windowless window seats. Consumers deserve better than empty promises and United’s word games.”

United said in court filings that it never promised window seats would include an outside view, even though booking screens and boarding passes identified them as window seats.

“The word ‘window’ identifies the position of the seat—i.e., next to the wall of the main body of the aircraft,” United said, according to Reuters. “The use of the word ‘window’ in reference to a particular seat cannot reasonably be interpreted as a promise that the seat will have an exterior window view.”

Plaintiffs said they paid extra for such seats for reasons including reducing anxiety, easing motion sickness, and viewing scenery.