South Carolina woman mouthes ‘help me,’ aids search for shooter

A quick-thinking South Carolina woman helped authorities arrest a suspect in a shooting when she mouthed “help me” to an officer during a traffic stop.

Officer Kayla Wallace noticed something was amiss when she pulled over a white Jeep that disregarded a red light at an intersection in Myrtle Beach on the morning May 28, the North Myrtle Beach Police Department said this week. 

The female driver mouthed “help me” to Wallace repeatedly when the male passenger was not looking, prompting the officer to remove the man from the vehicle and put him in her patrol car, the department said.

The distressed woman, who has not been named publicly, then told Wallace that the man had shot someone.

Within minutes, the local dispatch put out a radio call about a vehicle linked to a shooting on North Kings Highway, the official statement explained.

The vehicle and suspect description matched the male passenger, who was later identified as Collins Xavier Manning Bates, 29, of Columbia, WBTW reported.

It’s unclear what the relationship was between Bates and the passenger.

Police subsequently found a pistol under Bates’ seat in the Jeep, the outlet said.

He was arrested at the scene, and remains behind bars at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and unlawful possession of a pistol.