On the night of October 12, 2025, a high school alumni event at Willie’s Bar and Grill on Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, ended in a mass shooting. About 350 people were attending the Battery Creek High School gathering when gunfire erupted shortly before 1 a.m. Four people were killed and at least 20 others were injured. The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office identified one of the victims as 22-year-old Ashan’tek Milledge of Burton.

Beaufort County investigators said the shooting grew out of an unfriendly encounter between a suspect and one of the people who was killed. In the weeks after the attack authorities described initial witness reluctance to cooperate, then said tips and video helped identify persons of interest. On November 14, 2025, 27-year-old Anferny Freeman was arrested; he was already in custody on an unrelated machine-gun possession charge and was served with warrants charging him with four counts of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Investigators reported shell casings, video and witness statements indicate a third shooter was present and said the probe is ongoing. A judge denied bond for Freeman.

Did anyone at Willie’s that night or anyone who knew Ashan’tek see or hear something that could help investigators piece together what happened?