A trip to buy a Halloween costume turned into a scramble for the exits at a Myrtle Beach-area store over the weekend, after a 45-year-old man allegedly pulled out a handgun and pointed it at another person inside the shop. Horry County Police have charged Timothy Wilder, of North Myrtle Beach, with three counts of pointing and presenting firearms at a person and one count of breach of peace.
Officers responded to Imaginations Costume and Dance at 3268 Waccamaw Boulevard, off Highway 501, on October 10, according to WMBF. The station reports that Wilder pulled out a gun after being told to leave the store for causing a disturbance, according to arrest warrants, then pointed the weapon at a person inside. Imaginations Costume and Dance sells costumes for adults and children, wigs, makeup, props, and dance and gymnastics gear, and the unincorporated commercial strip off Highway 501 is a high-traffic retail corridor connecting Conway and Myrtle Beach that leans heavily on seasonal Halloween shopping.
Shoppers Ran for Safety as Panic Spread
The arrest warrants say Wilder's actions caused terror among shoppers and workers inside the store, and that some ran out to reach safety, per the same account cited by the station. Imaginations Costume & Dance itself bills itself as one of the Southeast's largest specialty stores for costumes, makeup, dancewear, and props, and typically extends its hours in October to handle the seasonal rush of Halloween shoppers.
Police seized the handgun allegedly used by Wilder along with four additional firearms, magazines, and ammunition, the station's report notes. Under South Carolina's weapons forfeiture statutes, handguns and ammunition seized during criminal investigations remain in law enforcement custody until all legal proceedings are fully concluded, meaning the confiscated weapons could ultimately be destroyed or retained for official use depending on how the case resolves.
What the Charges Carry Under State Law
Pointing and presenting a firearm at another person is a felony in South Carolina regardless of whether the gun is loaded or fired, carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison and a court-discretionary fine under state statute covering the offense. The breach of peace charge filed alongside it is a misdemeanor, punishable in magistrate's court by up to a $500 fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both, according to the state code addressing the offense.
Wilder was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway, per jail records cited by WMBF. The facility, run by the Horry County Sheriff's Office, held a total population of 941 inmates — 784 men and 157 women — as of October 11. Inmates there typically face initial magistrate bond hearings twice daily, at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., though it remains unclear whether a bond has been set in Wilder's case.
A Carry Law With Limits on Private Property
The incident unfolds against the backdrop of South Carolina's Constitutional Carry Act, which took effect in March 2024 and allows adults 18 and older to carry handguns openly or concealed without a permit. That law explicitly preserves the right of private property and business owners to prohibit firearms on their premises and to order armed individuals to leave, per guidance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. It remains unclear whether Wilder was carrying the gun lawfully before he was asked to leave the store.
Horry County Police, the only remaining county police department in South Carolina, maintain primary jurisdiction over unincorporated commercial zones like the one surrounding Waccamaw Boulevard. The block has seen gun violence before: in July, officers responded to an exchange of gunfire on the 3200 block of Waccamaw Boulevard that left a bystander with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, prompting investigators to review surveillance footage and collect evidence from the scene. Whether Wilder faces additional charges tied to the four other firearms and ammunition seized from him has not been disclosed.
