A mass shooting at Willie’s Bar and Grill on Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, ended the lives of four people on the night of October 12, 2025. The attack occurred shortly after 1 a.m. during a high school alumni event attended by hundreds; at least 20 other people were wounded. Chiraad Evelio Roddi Smalls, 33, was one of the four killed. Originally from the Bronx, he lived in the Beaufort area and worked as a forklift operator. Family described him as the life of the party, a strong and charismatic man and a devoted father to his sons Ayden and Carter. He was buried alongside his nephew Ka'Shawn RaShad KK Smalls-Glaze after a joint funeral service.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office says the shooting began after an unfriendly encounter between 27-year-old Anferny Freeman and one of the victims, and that both exchanged gunfire; investigators believe a third person also fired and indicated more arrests may be expected. Freeman was wounded in the exchange and later charged with four counts of murder; he was already in custody on an unrelated machine-gun possession charge when the murder charges were served. Did anyone at the alumni event recognize tensions beforehand or see suspicious people entering the bar that night?