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Crime wave and road rage statistics in South Carolina have climbed this past summer, but for law enforcement in the Palmetto State, a high school love drama has become the year’s most tragic case.

Nine teens from the Myrtle Beach area have been arrested and criminally charged in the murder of a 16-year-old boy that authorities say was caught in a summer crime wave.

In June, a Florence County Sheriff’s Office deputy found 16-year-old Trey Dean Wright of Johnsonville shot to death. On June 24, deputies found Wright with multiple gunshot wounds in a car parked along First Neck Road, about 45 miles west of Myrtle Beach. Deputies pronounced him dead at the scene.

Deadly Argument With Shooter, Victim

Deputies arrested 19-year-old Devan Scott Raper of Conway the next day and charge him with murder and related firearms offenses. Prosecutors have said Raper shot and killed Wright in the aftermath of an argument between the two men “over a girl” and that at least one of the other teens present at the time of the murder recorded video of the shooting.

Days later, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office disclosed that Wright’s girlfriend, 17-year-old Gianna Kistenmacher of Myrtle Beach, was among those charged in the case. A statement from the sheriff’s office said she had been charged as an accessory before the fact to murder for allegedly driving Raper to the site of the murder while knowing he was armed and would be shooting at her boyfriend.

“They were complicit in bringing the armed co-defendant, Raper, to the incident location and knowing that there would be a confrontation,” Florence County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Michael Nunn told WBTW-TV. “They knew that Raper had presented a firearm to the victim and made threats to shoot him, according to the arrest warrants.”

Authorities in the state said state law required them to charge all five suspects as adults.

Weeks after the shooting death, Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye announced that investigators had expanded their probe and charged four additional suspects in the case. In addition to murder, prosecutors announced that 18-year-olds Hunter Kendall and Corrine Belviso and 17-year-old Sydney Kearns of the Myrtle Beach area were all facing various charges.

The nine suspects now stand accused of their roles in Wright’s killing. In addition to the two teens who face direct murder charges, prosecutors have said the other seven provided support to the shooter before or after the fact, by either luring Wright to the scene of his murder or failing to intervene when it occurred.

“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 added.

Teen’s Mother Struggles Amid Investigation

Weeks after the shooting, Wright’s mother, Ashley Lindsey, has expressed no relief following the arrest of the nine Myrtle Beach area teens, finding the last several weeks to be an emotionally exhausting experience.

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

A GoFundMe account started for Wright following the teen’s death showed an undated photograph of the smiling 16-year-old with a snake coiled around his shoulders.

Murder Investigation ‘Senseless’ Because of Suspects’ Ages

Sheriff Joye told reporters following his announcement of the additional arrests that cases such as Wright’s murder in which a young person is killed always seemed senseless, particularly in cases such as this where he said the crime appeared to erupt in the heat of personal argument.

“They had issues with each other, and it was over a female,” Joye said. “The sad thing is, you got a 16-year-old that lost his life. You’ve got a 19-year-old who is going to be in jail the rest of his life. Over what?”

Status of Nine Murder Accused

This week, Raper remains in jail without bond and facing charges of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Prosecutors have also ordered Kendall jailed without bond.

Belviso and Kearns have been released on $20,000 surety bonds and are awaiting trial.

District Attorney’s office has declined to provide further information on the case, citing the continuing investigation, but has confirmed all nine suspects have been indicted for murder and other related felonies.

Impact of Case

The case has sent shockwaves throughout several communities in Florence County and across the Myrtle Beach region for reasons outside the large number of young people directly and indirectly involved. Prosecutors also have said the circumstances of the crime show it was not a random act of violence but instead was planned in advance by several of the teen suspects, who provided logistical support to the shooter even after knowing of Raper’s threats to shoot Wright and his possession of a firearm.

Prosecutors in the case said they expect to continue relying on South Carolina’s “hand of one, hand of all” law, which allows an accomplice to be charged as if they had personally committed the crime for which they are being prosecuted. In addition to this law, authorities have said they also will be seeking to build a case around witness statements, arrest warrants, and the video recording of the shooting in the weeks ahead.

Wright’s family members and friends, however, say the case has just begun for them. “On top of losing my precious baby,” Lindsey said, “I’m now forced to sit through court hearings and face the people who helped take him from me.”