Holiday Melee: Cop Dragged, Guns Seized

A viral Fourth of July video from North Charleston shows a police officer being swarmed and dragged down as arrests stack up around a permitted block party.

Quick Take

North Charleston police say six people were arrested, including four juveniles and two adults.
Chief Ron Camacho said officers recovered four firearms, including two automatic weapons, and a makeshift spear.
Two female officers suffered minor injuries during the clash.
Police have not publicly released body camera footage, and the trigger for the violence is still under review.

What Police Say Happened

North Charleston police say the trouble unfolded during a permitted block party that had run without incident for 10 years. Chief Ron Camacho said officers met with event organizers before the holiday and later made repeated public announcements telling the crowd to leave after the event had ended. Police also said the scene turned violent before officers could fully restore order, and they later announced arrests tied to assault charges and weapons offenses.

The public face of the case is the video itself. It shows an officer being overrun by a crowd, pulled to the ground, and hit during the struggle. That clip has driven most of the reaction online and on television, because it gives viewers a fast, shocking image without showing the full chain of events before or after the attack.

Arrests, Weapons, and Injuries

Police and local outlets reported six arrests at first, then later reports raised the total to seven as the case developed. One named suspect, Giovanni Mekhi Sincere Campbell, 19, was charged with possession of a machine gun, while Sa’Mya Adriana Collette Weaver, 18, was charged with assault on police while resisting arrest. Police also said they recovered four firearms, including two automatic weapons, and a makeshift spear from the scene.

Chief Camacho said two female officers suffered minor injuries during the assault. Another arrest involved Dejuan Ravenel, 21, whom police accused of taking a Taser and loaded gun magazines from an assaulted officer. Live 5 News reported that officers later found those items during a search of Ravenel’s apartment, adding another layer to a case already shaped by fast-moving arrests and shifting counts.

What Remains Unclear

The biggest unanswered question is what first pushed the gathering from disorder into violence. Camacho said investigators are still trying to determine what triggered the escalation between the initial police contact and the outbreak of violence. He also said body camera footage is being reviewed for more arrests but will not be publicly released, which limits what the public can verify for itself right now.

Exclusive- North Charleston Mayor Reggie Burgess to me about the viral 4th of July block party video: 'Nothing wrong is right.'

WATCH:https://t.co/6isc6kWa1S #chsnews

— Quintin Washington (@QuintinReports) July 9, 2026

That gap matters because the same footage that makes the assault look clear may not show the full context around the police response, the crowd’s movement, or the moments before contact. 911 calls released by local media also described a chaotic scene with gunfire and fireworks fired at vehicles before police arrived, which suggests the incident was already spiraling when officers stepped in.

Why the Story Is Resonating

The case is landing in a country already on edge about public safety, youth violence, and trust in institutions. For many readers, the sharpest concern is not just the attack on police, but the larger picture: a permitted event that still collapsed into arrests, weapons, injuries, and a public information fight over what really happened. That mix leaves both law enforcement and the public with the same problem — too much anger, and too few answers.