The 鈥減arty boat shooting鈥 in Little River illustrates the inherent challenges in reporting news events as well as the human tendency to draw conclusions prematurely.
鈥淒on鈥檛 jump to conclusions,鈥 parents and other adults told us. It鈥檚 still excellent advice, although sometimes more difficult to follow in today鈥檚 culture.
On Memorial Day weekend, 11 people were injured, 10 by bullet wounds, as they disembarked from a private charter boat in Little River. This was on Sunday, May 25, after 9 p.m. when the boat returned from a three-hour excursion.
The shooting brought a large police presence to Watson Avenue, near Little River鈥檚 waterfront. The private charter boat is among fishing, dolphin, and other excursion boats that operate from Little River. Watson Avenue runs parallel to the Intracoastal Waterway. A large parking lot is entered from Watson. (The residential street runs a few blocks from Mineola Avenue, the main entry to the waterfront, to Baldwin Avenue.)
On Monday, Memorial Day, Little River residents received phone calls, texts and emails from family and friends asking about our safety, and proximity to the 鈥減arty boat shooting.鈥 It was a national news report almost as soon as it was reported by Horry County news outlets.
A neighbor heard from family in the Chicago area. I received a text from my sister in Wheaton, Illinois, a far western suburb, then emails from former newspaper colleagues in Downstate Illinois and Kansas. Initial reports were confusing about the exact location of the shooting, such as placing it on the other side of the Intracoastal, near the swing bridge.
Four days after the shooting, a 19-year-old man was arrested in Lake County, Illinois. I learned of the arrest at a social gathering, where we talked about it, and the case in general.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know the facts,鈥 a retired law enforcement officer reminded us. At the time, I thought it was an important point. On social media, there often is little regard for actual facts. When I had mentioned news media efforts to learn the facts, the friendly pushback reminded me that people often have news media mixed with social media stuff that might be misinformation or dis-information.
That underscores how important it is to know the source of information, news and otherwise.
I wondered about the arrest being in Lake County, Illinois. CBS reported that Shawon Shamarion Williams was arrested by agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, NCIS, at Naval Station Great Lakes. Williams is a Navy seaman assigned to a command at Great Lakes, near North Chicago and Waukegan.
CBS quoted an Atlanta, Georgia, man, Jeremy Evans, one of the persons injured in the shooting. Responding to the arrest, Evans called for justice to be served. In an earlier interview with another news organization, Evans suggested the Horry County Police Department wasn鈥檛 putting enough priority on making an arrest. He said, 鈥溾 if a group of white people were shot out here, there would be a whole manhunt 鈥︹
The NCIS arrest, a thousand miles from Little River, shows that perspective was premature.
Little River resident D.G. Schumacher has been a newspaper journalist for more than 60 years.
(3) comments
The usual suspect was caught quite quickly, considering the lack of cooperation from the people on the boat. Most disappeared and didn鈥檛 come forward at all which leads to more questions. The obvious race baiter amd forever offended Evans from Atlanta ( what a surprise) comments tells you everything you need to know about the incident and zero cooperation from the people on the boat. I commend the Police for their efforts and quick apprehension of the suspect in spite of the lack of cooperation from supposed witnesses.
Valkyrie. My sentiments exactly! You are 100% on point.
It鈥檚 just so tiring to see the same nonsense day in and day out from the same people. Why I left NY for the supposed quiet of SC, but they just seem to find you.
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