By Tony Kukulich
A child was injured after a man in an adjoining apartment fired a weapon in Port Royal, Tuesday, June 14.
The man, 28-year-old Benjamin Smalls, was involved in an altercation with his ex-girlfriend and another man in the Port Royal Apartments on Grober Road. It was during this altercation that Smalls allegedly fired a gun. The bullet traveled through the apartment wall into the bathroom of the adjacent apartment where the child was injured. Police are unsure if the child was injured by the bullet or by flying debris.
The child was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital with an injury to the arm. The child’s current condition is unknown.
The Port Royal Police said a caller who dialed 9-1-1 around 6:30 p.m., disconnected from the call. The dispatcher heard what sounded like a disturbance in the background, and police were sent to the location to investigate.
Smalls was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center and was charged with discharging a weapon into a dwelling and a concealed weapon violation. According to county records, Smalls was released the following day.
The police investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Tony Kukulich is a recent transplant to the Lowcountry. A native of Wilmington, Del., he comes to The Island News from the San Francisco Bay Area where he spent seven years as a reporter and photographer for several publications. He can be reached at tony.theislandnews@gmail.com.
