A shooting at an oceanfront motel in Myrtle Beach, one of South Carolina's most popular tourist destinations, killed three people and left a fourth person wounded, the Associated Press reported.
Crowds of tourists at the Bermuda Sands Motel along the beach's new boardwalk witnessed the shootings around 11 p.m., Myrtle Beach Police Capt. David Knipes said at a news conference.
Two of the dead bodies were shielded by towels over the balcony of a breezeway just outside the doors to the rooms of the motel from people on nearby Ocean Boulevard, officers said.
It hasn't been confirmed on what caused the shooting, police said. According to the AP, no suspects have been identified.
The victims were Devonte Dantzler, 21, of Summerville; Sandy Gaddis, 22, of Summerville; and Jamie Williams, 28, of Ladson, Horry County deputy coroner Darris Fowler said. The fourth victim is hospitalized.
Minutes before the shooting took place, several people were seen fighting on the sidewalk in front of the motel, The Sun News quoted a witness as saying.
"At first, everyone was standing around to see who was going to win the fight. Then they started shooting and everyone scattered," George Covington told the newspaper.
"The shooting happened during the annual Atlantic Beach BikeFest held about 15 miles away during the Memorial Day weekend," the AP reported. "Police say they typically deal with motorcycle wrecks and lesser offenses during the bike rally, but violence is unusual."
In all of 2013, Myrtle Beach has just two homicides, Knipes said.
"We certainly don't like to see any type of incident where somebody dies during this event, or any event that Myrtle Beach has," Myrtle Beach Police Capt. David Knipes told WISTV. "To have three people [killed] in one night is kind of a big thing; we only had two homicides for a total last year," he said.
