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Nine teenagers have been arrested in South Carolina in connection with the June 24 shooting death of 16-year-old Trey Dean Wright of Johnsonville. Police said the incident began “over a girl,” and the ensuing confrontation was allegedly at least partially video-recorded by one of the other suspects.

Florence County deputies located Wright’s body on First Neck Road on June 24. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The remote road in the area is about 45 miles west of Myrtle Beach. On June 25, deputies arrested 19-year-old Devan Scott Raper of Conway, charging him with firing the shots that killed Wright after what police described as an escalating verbal altercation between the two.

Police have since charged five other suspects, all teenagers, with being accessories before the fact. Florence County Sheriff’s Office officials say several of them “recruited” Wright to the location where he encountered Raper, who police say was armed and had made prior threats to the teen.

“I don’t even have time to sit down and think half the time, on top of losing my precious baby,” Wright’s mother, Ashley Lindsey, told Fox News Digital. “All this court hearing and bond court and stuff is driving me crazy.”

Girlfriend of Shooting Victim Among Suspects Charged

The now-former girlfriend of the victim, 17-year-old Gianna Kistenmacher of Myrtle Beach, is among those arrested. Police say she has been charged with accessory before the fact to murder for allegedly helping to recruit Wright to the area near the shooting scene, where Raper had been waiting, knowing that Raper was armed and that violence was likely.

Police also revealed that some of the suspects had conspired to confront Wright and another individual in the moments before the shooting. “One of the suspects was video recording the incident on their phone,” Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye told reporters.

Joye added that police had not yet released the video to the public “because of the ongoing nature of the investigation.” The Florence County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital for comment.

Major Michael Nunn of the Florence County Sheriff’s Office told WBTW-TV that multiple suspects had been “complicit” in the encounter with Raper. “They were complicit in bringing the armed codefendant, Raper, to the incident location and knowing that there would be a confrontation,” Nunn said. “They knew that Raper had presented a firearm to the victim and made threats to shoot him, according to the arrest warrants.”

Police Charge Some Suspects as Adults

South Carolina law allows authorities to prosecute juveniles as adults in cases of severe or violent crime, such as murder, and officials have confirmed five of the suspects are being prosecuted in that capacity. “The hand of one being the hand of all is part of South Carolina law as well, so that’s the basis of the charge for each of those individuals,” Nunn said.

Three other teens living in the Myrtle Beach area were later charged alongside Raper with murder. They have been identified as 18-year-olds Hunter Kendall and Corrine Belviso and 17-year-old Sydney Kearns. Authorities say their roles were significant enough to warrant direct murder charges.

Sheriff Joye said the shooting was the result of a “beef” between two individuals, fueled by competition for the affections of a young woman. “They had issues with each other, and it was over a female,” he told local media. “The sad thing is, you’ve got a 16-year-old who lost his life. You’ve got a 19-year-old who is going to be in jail the rest of his life. Over what?”

Raper is currently being held in the Florence County Detention Center without bond. Kendall has been charged with murder and also remains in custody without bond. Belviso and Kearns each posted a $20,000 surety bond last week and have since been released, pending trial.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office has not released additional details to the public, citing the ongoing investigation, and prosecutors declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital. Wright’s family, however, has continued to speak publicly about the loss.

His mother has expressed both frustration with the lengthy court proceedings and anger that the suspects include her son’s girlfriend and several of his friends. The shooting has raised questions in the community over the role that teenage disputes, peer pressure, and access to firearms play in escalating into deadly violence.

A disagreement between two people has now led to nine teens facing serious charges, two families in mourning, and a small South Carolina community in shock at how an argument can go so wrong.