Sebastian Sanders, an 18-year-old Black man from Marion, South Carolina, had his life tragically cut short by gun violence during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend of 2021.
The fatal encounter occurred on the afternoon of Saturday, November 27. Around 1:15 p.m., the Horry County Police Department responded to a shots fired call in the 100 block of Augusta Plantation Drive, the location of the Seaside Grove Apartments.
The complex is in the Carolina Forest area near River Oaks Drive, just outside Myrtle Beach. When officers arrived, they found a witness administering first aid to Sebastian, who was lying unconscious on his back in the parking lot. Emergency medical personnel were summoned, but Sebastian could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner, Tamara Willard, later formally identified the victim. She announced that Sebastian Sanders had died from multiple gunshot wounds. The Horry County Police Department immediately began an investigation into the homicide and asked for the public’s help, providing a tip line at 843-915-8477 for anyone with information about the shooting.
The investigation quickly led to a suspect. Four days after the shooting, on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, police arrested 17-year-old Devon Charles Smith of Conway. He was charged with murder in connection with Sebastian's death. Smith was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center around 4:00 p.m. that afternoon and, according to online records, was held without bond. As of December 2021, the case was proceeding with the suspect in custody.
