Expect to see more police on Isle of Palms Friday in preparations for a “senior skip day”

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD) – Heading to the beach? Expect an increased law enforcement presence throughout Isle of Palms on Friday as authorities prepare for a so-called “senior skip day” event.

Chaos broke out on the Isle of Palms beach on April 7, 2023, after a series of fights turned into shots being fired on the beach during what police said was a senior skip day gathering of high school students.

Five people were injured and five people were arrested, including the alleged shooter.

Since that shooting, Isle of Palms PD has implemented new safety and security measures in the beach community.

Leaders with the department said they were recently made aware of Friday’s apparent “senior skip day,” and are taking a multi-tiered approach to prepare for any such gatherings and will have a larger presence in the area.

Those preparations include having extra personnel from multiple agencies around their beach and on their roads while utilizing additional equipment and intelligence analysis.

Sgt. Matt Storen with the Isle of Palms Police Department said this all started when authorities were told about a “senior skip day” flyer being shared on social media that showed it would begin at noon.

But with it being on social media, authorities are unsure exactly how many students have already shared it.

“When it’s spreading through social media, it’s going through multiple schools, multiple school districts. We know Berkeley County and Charleston County schools have reached out to us, parents and students from those schools have both reached out to us. So we know those schools, those districts are involved, but it spreads very easily through social media nowadays,” said Sgt. Storen.

The Isle of Palms police are inviting people to come out and enjoy the beach, but they’re also reminding folks that they will have zero tolerance for all violations of city ordinances and state laws.