Anrae Hamlin was riding with his cousin in February when two men jumped into the street with guns blazing. Hamlin took one bullet in the leg and another in the foot. As he bled, one of his friends was being buried across town, just days after another shooting.
Hamlin, 20, said he took to carrying a gun for protection and considered exacting some street justice of his own. He said he eventually calmed down and got rid of the gun, deciding it was best to let the law handle things. But he remains cautious when he ventures out in rural Colleton County, aware that tensions always are simmering just below the surface.
“People around here are crazy,” Hamlin said, shaking his head. “People treat guns like water pistols. They don’t think about it taking someone’s life.”