Myrtle Beach Campground Evacuated, 'Barricaded Subject' in 'Weapons Incident' Taken Into Custody

Visitors at a South Carolina campground were evacuated Sunday evening as law enforcement personnel, drones, dogs and an armored vehicle descended on the site for a "possible weapons incident" that turned into a barricaded person, officials said.

The Horry County Police Department said it responded to the Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach at around 7:30 p.m. Sunday in response to a report of a "weapons incident" at site 1740 Neptune. Once there, officers evacuated "potentially impacted units" nearby and warned others to avoid the area.

In an update at around 8:30 p.m., police wrote on social media that the weapons incident had become a barricaded subject incident. SWAT team personnel, a bomb squad, K-9 units, a drone team, and other personnel responded to the scene.

As rumors began to swirl in the community, police urged "caution in sharing photos or information regarding the location of officers at the scene as this could place them at greater risk as they work to resolve this incident peacefully." The campground, likewise, asked community members to "help dispel rumors regarding this situation."

"There is not a murder as being mentioned on the unofficial pages, comments, and posts," the campground wrote on Facebook. "We do not report hearsay, speculation, and rumors. We wait for the professional emergency officials to handle the situation, provide support, and work to keep everyone safe. We understand there are many questions, but do not help cause others to panic for social media engagement."

As negotiations continued with the barricaded subject, police sent another update at around 9:30 p.m., warning curious people to avoid the area.

"Don’t let the desire to catch a glimpse of the incident place you in a dangerous position," police said.

About ten minutes after posting that update, police said the subject was safely taken into custody without incident. No injuries were reported.

Videos from the scene appeared to show a woman in handcuffs being led to a police vehicle. Police did not reveal the identity of the subject in custody and said the investigation into the incident was ongoing.

—TMX contributed to this report.