In the late evening of September 15, 2024, the life of 17-year-old Ari'Anna Mulligan was tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire outside the Magnolia Park Apartments in Burton, a community near Beaufort, South Carolina. A student at Bridges Preparatory School, where she had recently begun her senior year, Ari'Anna was looking forward to her senior prom.
That night, she was in the apartment complex's parking lot when an altercation between two groups erupted in gunfire around 10 p.m.
Ari'Anna was one of three people struck by the bullets; one of the other victims was her own brother. First responders rushed her to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, from where she was airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston for more advanced care. Tragically, her injuries were too severe, and she went into cardiac arrest during the flight, being pronounced dead just after midnight on September 16, 2024.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office launched an intensive investigation into the shooting, which they believed involved multiple shooters. Their efforts led to a series of arrests in the weeks and months that followed. The first suspects taken into custody were 18-year-old Rashod Lorenzo Williams of Grays Hill and 18-year-old Jeremiah Warren of Beaufort. Soon after, 23-year-old Storm Lemont Zop Polite of Dale and 17-year-old Derrick Jerrod McKee of Beaufort were also apprehended.
Nearly a year after the fatal shooting, in September 2025, a fifth suspect was charged. Jayvon Andre Garrett, 21, of Beaufort, was arrested and, like the other four adult defendants, faced charges of murder, aggravated breach of peace, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Investigators also charged two juveniles in connection with the shooting, though their names and specific charges were not publicly released. All five adult suspects were held at the Beaufort County Detention Center as the case against them proceeded.
