Rockiem Graham, a 29-year-old man from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, was dead by the time help reached him on the evening of April 7, 2018. The first sign that something was wrong wasn’t a 911 call about a shooting, but a reckless vehicle that drew deputies’ attention near the intersection of U.S. 278 and Indigo Run Plantation. When deputies stopped the car and approached, the people inside told them there was a gunshot victim in the back seat.
Deputies secured the scene and
summoned paramedics from Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue. Responders confirmed that Graham had suffered gunshot wounds and was already gone. As traffic backed up around the stop, authorities temporarily shut down an eastbound lane in the area so investigators and the coroner could work.
With the body discovered far from wherever the violence began, investigators focused on figuring out where the shooting actually happened. Deputies worked to trace the incident back to its origin, and investigators later identified an outdoor location on Blazing Star Lane as the crime scene. Evidence was collected there as the homicide investigation took shape.
In the days after the killing, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office described the case as an intentional act and said the investigation was “rapidly evolving” as information came in. At that time, authorities said there had been no arrests. The sheriff’s office urged anyone with information to contact law enforcement or submit tips through Crimestoppers, emphasizing that public leads could be crucial in identifying the person or people responsible.
