MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Horry County Police say they are investigating an attempted murder after a homeowner in the Waterford Plantation community was shot at by a man on a bicycle.
According to the police report, officers were called to Sparkle Court in the Carolina Forest area around 3 a.m. Thursday morning. The victim told officers his newborn child woke him up just moments earlier and he happened to look out his window to see a bicycle lying in his driveway.
The homeowner then saw a man walking around his neighbor’s vehicle. The suspect walked back across the street, picked up his bike, and rode towards another neighbor’s home, the victim told police. The victim stepped outside and watched as the suspect went into two of his neighbor’s cars. The victim yelled at the suspect, causing the man to turn around and take off on his bike.
The police report says the homeowner jumped in his car to follow the suspect and then “heard what he thought was a gunshot.” The victim turned his car around and called police.
Officers were able to retrieve what appears to be a bullet from the driver side door of the victim’s car. While looking for shell casings, officers noticed that a neighbor had a home surveillance system and they were able to get the video from that homeowner. The report states that although the video is quite dark, you can see the suspect “make the motion of possibly discharging a firearm.”
News13 spoke to the neighbor who turned over the surveillance video to police, he said it was disturbing to see.
“That someone would come into our driveway, attempt to break into our vehicles and then actually shoot at a neighbor which to me is totally unacceptable,” said Doug Wilson.
Wilson hopes the surveillance video will help police find the suspect.
“We are certainly encouraging people to consider picking up a surveillance camera because it will be helpful in this case as has in many others before,” explained Krystal Dotson with Horry County Police.
Officers later discovered a bike lying beside a wooden gazebo. The victim identified the bike as that the suspected gunman was riding.
Horry County Police reports officers have recently increased patrols in the community, but no arrest has been made in this case.
“We just want resident’s to know that we are aware of whats going on and our response is to put more officers out there to be visible to stop this from happening again,” said Dotson.
