Walterboro, SC - Since the start of November, at least 16 people have been shot in Colleton County. Four of those victims died. As the violence continues Sheriff George Malone is working to silence it.

“We’re going to clean this up eventually. Let me make that statement. It’s going to get cleaned up. How and when, I can’t give you a time frame yet, but I’m confident. I’m not letting it get me down,” Malone said. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not moving or whatever. I’m not allowing these criminals to run me away from my home.”

That home, Colleton County has been torn up the past six to eight months, riddled with gunfire. According to the sheriff, partly the source of that fire, gangs.

“They are not going to cooperate with law enforcement for any reason. So that’s been our biggest challenge. We are not getting any information from them, even when they are threatened. They just intend to handle it themselves,” Malone said.

Malone says many of them are taking the law into their own hands, but the sheriff, along with SLED and the Walterboro Police Department, are taking the streets back.  Some, though, are not happy about the extra patrols and checkpoints.

“People seem to think were imposing on their privacy or whatever and unnecessarily. In my opinion it’s not unnecessary, it’s totally necessary,” Malone said. “They’ve been told to do a job by me. So it’s my fault, then again I take the blame for that all the time.”

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