Shooting, stabbing reported at Coastal Grand Mall
MYRTLE BEACH, SC Sept 12 2020 A shopping trip to Coastal Grand Mall on Tuesday is a moment in time that one man says he’ll never forget.
Lee Knight made a special trip around 2 p.m. Tuesday to Coastal Grand Mall, hoping to buy a new pair of jeans and a shirt. Shortly after that, Knight said he witnessed a stabbing and shooting both inside and outside the mall.
“On a Tuesday afternoon, at a nice local mall, you don’t see stuff like this happening,” Knight said. “The world’s gotten mean. Be aware, cause you never know, something like this could happen.”
Knight said while walking through the food court area inside Coastal Grand Mall, he saw a man with what he described as a serious stab wound.
“He collapsed near the doorway,” Knight said.
He said he saw a man nearby that he believed was the suspect who stabbed the victim, leaving the mall. Knight and another man ran after the suspect into the parking lot and that’s when he said a black car pulled up and that’s when shots were fired.
Knight said he then saw the suspect jump into the car before the vehicle took off.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department said two people were hurt during the incident.
Two people have been charged in connection to the case.
Police say 34-year-old Dionte White stabbed two victims inside the mall and ran from the scene. White was captured hours later and charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count for possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
White was denied bond Wednesday, after a judge said he was a flight risk and danger to the community, based on testimony from detectives and the mother of one of the victims.
During the bond hearing, a Myrtle Beach Police detective stated White was captured on mall surveillance video walking around the mall. After seeing the victims, the detective said White purchased a knife at a sporting good store inside of the mall.
Police said White then walked to the food court area and waited for the two victims to pass by, before attacking them.
Police say both victims suffered serious injuries.
A second suspect has been charged but police have not yet released the name of the person or the charges they’re facing.
Although the day of shopping didn’t go as planned, Knight has no regrets. After the suspects left the scene, Knight rushed back inside of the mall to help the victims.
“I needed to help the man that was cut,” Knight said. “I was able to get back over there and a couple of guys had already put a towel on him.”
Knight said he created and applied a tourniquet by using a belt.
“There was a guy standing by the mall entrance stunned and I went over and told him I needed his belt,” Knight said. “So I yanked his belt off and used it. I needed to help stop the bleeding.”
Knight said he got the idea to use a tourniquet from his experience in the Boy Scouts.
Our news team asked Knight what crossed his mind while chasing the suspect, and he said that’s a question he’s been asked a lot since Tuesday.
“It was a natural reflex for me, it’s what I do,” Knight said.” I have been called stupid sometimes for getting in the middle of stuff like that but [you must] do the right thing. This world is a big mess right now. And if you can’t do the right thing right now, when?”
WMBF
