Judge denies bond for suspect in Charleston mass shooting that injured 12

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A judge denied bond for a Charleston man who was arrested Friday in a mass shooting on May 30 that left 9 people wounded and three others injured.

Deljavon Lamat Simmons, 31, is charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, Sgt. Elisabeth Wolfsen said.

Simmons, a former standout quarterback and basketball player at Burke High School, faced the judge with his family and a former football coach present to defend him during the hearing. Charleston Police called him a danger to the community and the judge denied bond

“I don’t want to go near that area. I will never touch another gun, like, to be honest with you, all those people that got shot, those are my friends,” Simmons said. “Every last one of them is my friends. I was running around the whole time just checking on everyone that had a gunshot wound because all of us were standing in the same area.”

Police responded to the area of America and South Streets on May 30 on a noise complaint.

As the first officer arrived on the scene, gunshots rang out. Nine people — three women aged 22, 21, and 33, five men aged 35, 27, 27, 35, and 28, and a 17-year-old girl — were injured by gunfire.

Glass shrapnel injured the officer, who was in his cruiser, as the car was pelted with bullets.

Additional Charleston Police officers and officers from other agencies responded and two Charleston County deputies were injured by assault as they assisted.

Initial reports the day after the shooting indicated 10 people had been shot. The investigation revealed that one of those initially believed to have been wounded did not suffer a gunshot wound, Wolfsen said.

Simmons was a former standout QB and basketball player at Burke. He had originally signed to play football at The Citadel before failing to make the schools admissions requirements https://t.co/Bz784g3twF
— Kevin Bilodeau (@KevinLive5) June 10, 2022

Eight shooting victims were treated and released from the hospital. One remains hospitalized, in stable condition.

“Frankly, it’s a miracle that no one was killed in this shooting. We cannot and will not tolerate these kinds of events anywhere in our city, and I commend our officers on the intensive, ongoing investigation that produced this arrest,” Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds said.

Investigators have been diligently pursuing all leads stemming from the incident, and they continue to do so, Wolfsen said.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the on-duty Charleston Police central detective at 843-743-7200. Anyone with information who wishes to remain anonymous is asked to contact Lowcountry Crime Stoppers at 843-554-1111.

Charleston Police officers and detectives, and U.S. Marshals Task Force officers arrested Simmons, she said. He was being held at the Al Cannon Detention Center.