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A viral video shows multiple people attacking a North Charleston, South Carolina, police officer during a chaotic response to a permitted Fourth of July block party where authorities say gunfire erupted and multiple officers were assaulted.
The North Charleston Police Department said the confrontation unfolded after officers responded to a permitted neighborhood block party in the Chicora-Cherokee community at about 8:30 p.m. on July 4.
Officers received reports of people firing fireworks toward passing vehicles before learning that several attendees had begun discharging firearms.
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North Charleston Police released a photo showing four handguns and other evidence recovered during a chaotic July 4 response to a permitted neighborhood block party in the Chicora-Cherokee community. (North Charleston Police Department)
Police repeatedly announced that the event had ended and instructed attendees to leave the area in an effort to de-escalate the situation.
Despite those efforts, multiple fights broke out and additional gunshots were fired, prompting officers to exit their patrol vehicles to separate those involved and restore order.
During the response, multiple officers were assaulted, including two female officers who suffered minor injuries. The department also released photographs showing multiple handguns and what it described as a makeshift spear recovered at the scene.
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North Charleston Police released a photo of what the department described as a makeshift spear recovered during its response to a July 4 incident in the Chicora-Cherokee community. (North Charleston Police Department)
Police told Digital investigators are still working to determine whether any of the recovered firearms were discharged and whether the makeshift spear was used during the assaults.
Police said no civilians reported injuries during the incident.
Video shared online by The Carolina Courier shows a female officer attempting to detain a woman when several people rush in and pull the officer to the ground. As the officer is pinned down, one person repeatedly punches her in the head while another appears to strike her with an unidentified object before a second officer intervenes.
The video then shows the responding officer deploying what appears to be a stun gun on one individual, who retreats, before restraining another person who had been holding the female officer down, allowing her to get back on her feet.
By the end of the clip, at least two people appeared to be in custody.
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Police said four people had been arrested so far. (iStock)
“Attacks on law enforcement are unacceptable and those responsible will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the department said in a statement.
Four people have been arrested so far — one adult and three juveniles — and the arrests are related to the assaults on law enforcement seen in the viral videos, police told Digital. Authorities said they are still determining the charges, and additional arrests are possible as the investigation continues.
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The North Charleston Police Department said it is continuing to investigate the shootings and other criminal activity connected to the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators through the department’s CRIMEWATCH app.
