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In response to a violent crime wave that has tormented Colleton County, South Carolina for years, local law enforcement and community leaders held a public community update on their efforts to combat violence in and around the ‘Front Porch of the Lowcountry’ earlier this week.
The event – held at the Colleton Civic Center – saw law enforcement and community leaders take the stage to address the ongoing violence and participate in a “Q&A” with residents of the community seeking to gain insight on efforts to protect their streets.
According to Colleton County Sheriff Guerry L. “Buddy” Hill Jr., a total of 18,629 service calls have been made to the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) this year alone – with 331 of those calls in response to perceived shootings (in fairness, some of those involved fireworks or individuals engaged in hunting or private target shooting).
Hill noted that CCSO has received more than thirty calls regarding injury and damage to property, 79 weapons seized and five homicides in the county – three of which have resulted in arrests, one which will result in an arrest once a suspect is cleared from an out-of-state hospital and one which is still under investigation.
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Although CCSO is short-staffed by at least eight sworn officers, 146 drug cases have been made and incident reports detailed the amount of illegal substances taken off the streets.
- 60 pounds of marijuana, 11 plants
- 4.29 kilograms of cocaine
- 5.0 kilograms of methamphetamine
- 4.0 grams of heroin
- 15.5 grams of fentanyl
Walterboro, S.C. chief of police Wade Marvin stated that the mayor, city council, city manager and the police department came up with a 12-step plan in response to the urgency of the ongoing gun violence. Those steps include:
- Increased police presence in areas with repeated gun violence and gang activity
- Establishment of crime and watch neighborhoods
- Aggressively monitoring of social media to identify points and events that could lead to gun violence
- Investments in high-tech investigative equipment
- Improved communication with the public
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RELATED | LOWCOUNTRY LEADERS CONFRONT RISING VIOLENCE
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Prior to the Q&A, Colleton County School District safety and security coordinator Chris Glover stated several measures had been implemented across the district to ensure safety for students – including a very intense “check-in process” in which middle and high school students must go through weapons detection and have their bookbags checked every morning.
Glover also noted that next year, schools across the state will implement a cellphone ban – and Colleton students will be expected to place their cellphones in pouches that will lock at the beginning of the day and unlock as they exit the school in the afternoon.
As the Q&A began, things quickly got heated when one resident took the stand and bashed mayor Bill Young for what she claimed was a lack of presence in the community.
“With all the violence, all of everything that’s going on, we have not, as of yet heard your voice,” she stated. “As the mayor, you should be doing everything that you should be doing for the community and you have been sitting on the seat for all these years, yet you have not.”
Her comments were greeted with applause. In response, Young stated he disagreed with the resident – saying he has attended meetings with the sheriff, chief of police, Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and the local solicitor’s office to address the gun violence.
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However, some residents took the stand to praise law enforcement for working “religiously” to solve cases pertaining to personal matters faced.
“I just want to give praise and thanks to the sheriff’s department for their hard work,” one resident stated. “I hear everybody saying these things about the sheriff’s office, but Sheriff Hill has good deputies out there working.”
Walterboro and all of Colleton County still have a ways to go when it comes to tackling this crime wave, but leaders continue to encourage the community to help them unify and come together to solve this problem.
The event concluded with the community slogan of “if you see something, say something,” and a group prayer.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews for additional updates as we continue tracking the epidemic of violence – and efforts to rein it in.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2025 with a bachelor degree in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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