One person was injured after Conway units were dispatched to 355 Bellamy Ave. at approximately 12:51 a.m. on Nov. 1 in response to fired gun shots in the area, according to an incident report shared with The Chanticleer.
The name of the 20-year-old male victim is not released for public information, and the victim refused to give officers any information on the crime.
According to the report, shots were heard while dispatch was on the phone. There is currently an active investigation, and the suspect is unknown.
CCU Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Major of Operations Robert Pellerin said their officers heard about the incident over the call to Conway Police Department (CPD). When DPS arrived on the scene to assist, they were tasked to help with crowd control due to lack of substantial information.
“Upon initial investigation, our officers were unable to get any information, whether from Conway or anybody else that was able to corroborate that there was a shooting that took place at that time. Then our officers left the scene,” Pellerin said. “When our officers were there, we didn’t even actually know that anything did happen.”
Senior exercise science major Justin Thomas, who lives at the Bellamy Coastal apartment complex, said he heard the tires of a car drive away between 10:30 and 11 p.m. near the complex entrance.
Coastal Carolina University students were not notified of the situation via CCU Alert, a notification system meant to warn the community of emergencies near campus. Pellerin said this was due to the fact that it was Conway PD who was called to the scene, and as a result, the lack of information DPS had on the matter at that time.
“I think if we could have verified that there was a shooting and our students were in danger, then I think we would have potentially sent out something,” he said.
Another Bellamy resident, a student athlete who asked to stay anonymous, said he heard the gun shots outside of his apartment. Soon after, he saw a swarm of college-aged individuals fleeing from the scene of what appeared to be a Halloween party.
Both Thomas and the anonymous source were not aware anyone was hurt following the shooting, adding to the speculation surrounding the incident.
“We don’t have any information at this time now,” a Bellamy Coastal Clubhouse worker said, who refused to give The Chanticleer her name. “We have no information.”
WMBF news reporter Ashley Listrom said the incident makes a vague story, but also assumes it was a Halloween party where the crime occurred.