Shots were fired Monday night at a group of patriotic Trump supporters while they gathered on an interstate bridge in South Carolina, police say. Marquise Damarius Asomani of Charlotte, North Carolina was arrested on Tuesday as a suspect in the shooting.
The group of about 30 people, including several children, filled the overpass in Fort Mill, SC holding flags and Trump signs when witnesses say 23-year-old Asomani drove past the assembly before raising a gun out the window and firing at the crowd.
Police say no one was injured.
Fort Mill police say someone drove up I-77 last night and fired a gun at supporters of President Trump. They were waving flags from the Sutton Road overpass. Police say a Charlotte man is in custody this morning, pending charges. No one was hurt. More info soon.
— Greg Suskin (@GSuskinWSOC9) August 25, 2020
The gathering of Trump supporters formed because the president was due to make a short appearance at an airport in Greer, roughly 90 miles west of Fort Mill, to address the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
People at the scene told WSOC-TV that a man in a red vehicle shouted a stream of vulgar language before firing a weapon and driving off along Sutton Road. Police say that witnesses saw three men drive by on the bridge a number of times to shout profanities at the crowd. Witnesses say the car turned on to the ramp to northbound I-77, before the screaming driver stuck his arm out of the vehicle’s window and fired numerous shots. The car then bolted away on to the nearby interstate.
Angie Freeman told reporters the get-together was a family occasion and that she was in the line of cars when the gunshots rang out.
“Everybody was cutting up and having fun and laughing and everybody on 77 was blowing the horns and waving,” she said. “We had all the windows down because we had all the flags out the windows, and it was very loud and it was four or five shots.”
“You could tell that they slowed down and I just heard, like, ‘Da da da,’ you know just three rapid, what definitely sounded like gunfire,” another Trump enthusiast at the gathering, Shawna Winter, said. “I think it’s a shame that we can’t show our support for our president.”
Freeman says she was most distressed over the well-being of the children standing beside their families on the overpass. She told local news she was relieved that a state trooper was present to witness the event.
“Luckily, he was right there and flipped around, and they pointed him towards the car,” she said.
Police pursued the driver and later discovered the gunman’s car deserted on Gold Hill Road and Deerfield Drive.
Officers say they saw a man who matched the description of the shooter riding in a different car with two other men. They pulled the vehicle over and interviewed the men inside, leading to the arrest of Asomani.
“While out with that vehicle, officers observed another vehicle attempting to leave the area and noticed that clothing worn by one of the occupants matched that of one the suspects in the incident,” police said in a statement. “That vehicle was stopped by officers nearby, and the investigation continued, resulting in identification of three subjects, and confirmation of their involvement in the incident.”
The two other men in the car were released without charges.
Police say the suspect is being charged with “six counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, one count of unlawful carrying of a pistol, one count of pointing and presenting firearms at a person and possession of a firearm during a violent crime.”
The Trump loyalists told the press that despite the dramatic event they won’t be intimidated and will continue to show support for the president.
“This is not gonna stop me from supporting him, and it’s not gonna stop me from flying my flag again,” Winter told reporters.
Asomani’s bond is currently set at $75,000.