A South Carolina man arrested after gunshots near an LGBTQ club

Police in Myrtle Beach recently arrested a 37-year-old man from Clover, South Carolina, after gunshots were fired near a popular LGBTQ nightclub. The incident happened on a Wednesday morning when officers responded to reports of shots being fired. According to police records, the club owner discovered his SUV had two bullet holes—one in a window and another in the windshield—after leaving the club. Nearby, a silver car with a makeshift window cover was found abandoned. Security footage showed a vehicle stopping abruptly in the middle of the road, followed by flashes that appeared to be gunshots from the passenger side. Police later pulled over a silver car matching the description, finding a firearm and spent shell casings in the backseat. The driver, Timothy James Truett Jr. , was taken into custody and charged with multiple offenses, including hate intimidation.What stands out is that this marks the first arrest under Myrtle Beach’s newly introduced hate intimidation law, passed in 2024. The law allows for a $500 fine and up to 30 days in jail for crimes motivated by bias. However, police reports don’t explain why Truett was specifically charged under this law, leaving questions about the exact motivations behind the shooting. Truett remains jailed in Horry County with a bond set at nearly $312, 000. The case raises concerns about safety in LGBTQ spaces and how hate crime laws are applied in practice. Without clearer details, it’s hard to say whether this incident was truly targeted or just a random act of violence.