"This is horrible": Owner of Willie's Bar & Grill speaks on shooting

ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. () — The owner of Willie’s Bar & Grill was present during the St. Helena shooting and spoke to on how he’s processing the event.

“Any time you have something like this transpire, your heart goes out because somebody’s son, or somebody’s daughter didn’t come home,” says Willie Turral, owner of Willie’s Bar & Grill, who was present at the establishment when the shooting occurred.

Several victims and witnesses ran to nearby businesses and properties seeking shelter from the gunshots. At least 20 people were injured, four were transported to the hospital in critical condition and four others were pronounced dead at the scene.

Turral describes the incident that happened on his front porch as one of the darkest days on St. Helena Island. He says the shooting is something rooted in a “bigger issue,” Turral calls it an issue of hope and resources:

“We can keep reacting to it, or we can get to the systemic problems,” says Turral. “People gotta be educated. There has to be hope, there has to be resources in the community.”

Turral says that there is a “sense of danger” for customers who visit the business due to the lack of street lights in the area. He compared the area to business districts in Port Royal and Bluffton, saying that none of them “look like this” and urged that leadership needed to make the area feel safer.

The business owner also called for the prevention of gun violence through education and community, something he says is not just a problem in St. Helena Island, but in the entire nation.

“I doubt that, you know, [the shooter is] somebody who doesn’t have the intellect to know that you don’t pull a trigger at a human being,” says Turral. “This is horrible, you know?”

No arrests have been made following the shooting. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation. Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact Investigator Master Sergeant Duncan at 843-255-3418.