Loris area man dies after overnight shooting

By DEUCE NIVEN

     A Loris area man has died after reportedly being shot early Thursday east of the city, the Horry County Police Department has reported.

     William R. Simmons of Loris died about 6 a.m. as a result of the gunshot wound, Horry County Coroner Robert Edge Jr. said..

     Police were summoned to the McLeod Loris Emergency Department about 3 a.m. Thursday, and met with a witness who had taken a 27 year-old man with a gunshot wound to the hospital, an HCPD report by Officer Jack Smith said.

     The witness told police he was outside of a home somewhere off of Cedar Branch Road east of Loris when he stepped outside and “found the victim laying in a ditch on the side of the road,” the report said.

     Police were not initially able to locate the crime scene, which may have been near Paddock Road, the report indicated. There is no suspect information available now, Dotson said.

     Look for updates as warranted here, and the story in the next Tabor-Loris Tribune in print and online.