‘It was crazy:’ Georgetown County standoff ends peacefully after nearly five hours, leaves residents rattled

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) –Residents in a quiet Pawleys Island community were left shaken Monday night after a nearly five-hour standoff brought SWAT teams and drones into the area.

Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said a man had been peacefully taken into custody shortly before 7:30 p.m. after barricading himself inside a St. Christopher Circle residence.

The typically busy Waverly Road was shut off to traffic from Pettigru Drive to Martin Luther King Road. Authorities had not released the suspect’s name as of Monday night and said he would undergo a mental health evaluation.

A SWAT and negotiations team were on site as well as dozens of officials armed with rifles. A News13 crew heard police over a loudspeaker for hours as smoke was also visible.

Weaver at one point told reporters to move back for their own safety. Around 7 p.m., a bang was detected, and the person was taken into custody a short time later.

One neighbor said they saw both a police drone and robot.

“It was crazy. We were about to leave, thinking about to go get something to east, have a good time and all of the sudden cops, drones, SWAT everywhere,” said Anrya Wilson. “I was just so shocked. I’d never seen nothing like that before in person.”

Winters said she walks the area all the time, and the incident doesn’t make her feel unsafe after 40 years living in the community.

“I like to walk. That’s my hobby. I love to walk, and I love to cut grass and I love taking care of people,” she said.

Winters said she empathizes with the man who was at the center of it all.

“Just pray for everybody, because you don’t never know what people are going through in their life,” she said.

“I walk like a thousand miles a day, and I never see nothing like this in my life,” resident Shirley Winters said.