Prosecution not pleased with IOP senior skip day shooters 'light sentencing'

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]And we've got to stand for the victims.

[00:00:02]We've got to be here to let them know that we care.

[00:00:06]A major development today in the 2023 Isle of Palms Beach shooting case that sent five people to the hospital.

[00:00:11]>> Gunfire erupting on the beach during a crowded senior skip day. Now Davion Singleton has been sentenced to more than a decade behind bars.

[00:00:19]>> News 4's Emily Dean was inside that courtroom today.

[00:00:24]In court today, Davion Singleton said he knew what he did was wrong. The prosecution pushing for the maximum sentence of 45 years behind bars, but the judge ruling just 12 with the credit for his time already served. Isle of Palms police said they were discouraged with the judge's ruling, but say this event prompted stricter safety protocols. This incident changed the way we look at gatherings in general, and we see it nationwide where gatherings are resulting in violence. I want our residents and our visitors to know that we take that serious. We have things in place and steps that have to be followed.

[00:01:00]>> Singleton pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and one firearms charge tied to the April 2023 Isle of Palms Beach shooting during a crowded senior skip day event. Investigators say a fight broke out before shots were fired injuring five people. Singleton was originally charged with five counts of attempted murder, but those charges were later reduced. Defense attorneys argued Singleton acted in self-defense and did not intend to harm bystanders asking for a lighter sentence.

[00:01:32]Prosecutors sought the maximum 45-year sentence saying the shooting left lasting trauma on the victims and community. Officers who were on the scene that day disappointed by the judge's light sentence. The defendant here has the ability to go to jail, to spend 85% of the time that he's in jail for the remaining of his sentence.

[00:01:53]But we have victims who are going to spend the rest of their life that are impacted by scars or impacted by fears or post-traumatic stress.

[00:02:01]Singleton has no prior convictions and has been at Alken Indention Center since August of 2023 and will receive credit for the time he's already served.

[00:02:10]Reporting in downtown Charleston, Emily Dean, ABC News 4.