After 100-person ‘melee’ on King Street, Charleston makes big downtown safety changes

Reacting to a violent weekend that ended with several people being stabbed and shot, Charleston officials vowed to make the city’s downtown tourist district safe again by increasing the number of police and changing traffic patterns on the peninsula.

The changes will start this weekend and will remain in effect for at least a couple of months.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg announced details of a reimagined King Street corridor during a Tuesday afternoon press conference. The plan will go into effect starting Thursday evening. Tecklenburg was joined by members of City Council, downtown business owners and Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds in announcing the news.

The mayor acknowledged it will be “a significant change.”

Along King Street, the main artery of Charleston’s downtown shopping district, Tecklenburg said visitors and locals can expect to see upwards of “double or triple” the number of city police on patrol moving forward.

The city will also make King Street one-way, funneling traffic southbound from Spring Street to the Battery, after 9 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The other lane, Tecklenburg said, will be designated for emergency personnel, “just in case they are needed.”

The city will also end on-street parking along King Street between Spring Street and Mary Street from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

The sudden change in how downtown Charleston’s busiest street will operate comes after an estimated 100 people were involved in what the police chief described as a “melee” early Sunday morning.

Reynolds said six people were taken to the hospital after being either shot or stabbed.

“We will not tolerate that type of violence,” the police chief said, echoing the mayor’s words that safety is a shared effort.

“Why would you have a 16, 17-year-old out on King Street or in other parts of our city at 3:30 or 4 o’clock in the morning involved in a shootout, stabbing each other and fist fights, fighting the police?” Reynolds said “That’s not something that we’re going to tolerate.”

So far, one suspect has been arrested in connection with the incident, but Reynolds cautioned that the investigation is ongoing. Police on Tuesday said they arrested 18-year-old Zyarie Dazure Urum, of North Charleston, and charged her with two counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

When pressed, Reynolds would not say how many additional officers will be on duty this weekend.

“My answer is whatever it takes,” he said.

Reynolds cited large-scale events in the Charleston area, like the Cooper River Bridge Run, as an example of how an increased police presence should feel.

“If we do it really well, people don’t even know we’re present,” he said. “We’re under the bridges. We’re on the waterways. We’re in different jurisdictions.”

The city will also pledged to increase its enforcement of DUIs and underage drinking. Additional lighting will also be coming to dark portions of King Street to improve safety for pedestrians and motorists.

Tecklenburg said it felt like “someone hit the switch” with the recent influx of tourists flowing back into the city as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and vaccine distribution continues.

It is a welcome change after the COVID-19 pandemic hit downtown restaurants and bars particularly hard.

After a year of trying to project an image of safety, whether it was offering outside seating or showing patrons a seal that signaled they have a safe and clean environment, the violent event on Sunday was a gut punch for an industry struggling to hire and eager to return to normal.

Roy Neal, the owner of a Tex-Mex cantina on King Street called El Jefe, said restaurants just want a “nice safe environment out there.”

Then, he pleaded, “And come on down to King Street.”