Tahir Ademola Bailey, 26, was found fatally shot at about 6:30 a.m. on February 11, 2025 at the Garden Oaks Apartments complex on Salem Road in Beaufort. Officers responding to a man-down call discovered Bailey unresponsive and he was pronounced dead at the scene; the Beaufort County Coroner later identified him and officials notified his family.

Online memorials and an obituary named his parents as Robert and Brenda Bailey of Lady’s Island. Visitation was scheduled for February 16 at Allen Funeral Home in Beaufort, followed by a funeral service on February 17 at Israelite Baptist Church and burial in the church cemetery on Lady’s Island.

Police marked shell casings, canvassed the complex for witnesses, and opened an active homicide investigation under case number 25B05429. Nine days after the shooting, Beaufort police identified 23-year-old Derrick Lamonte Singleton Jr. as a suspect and sought tips; Singleton later turned himself in to Columbia police on February 21 and was held on charges including murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, criminal conspiracy, and discharging a firearm into a vehicle. The shooting became a focal point as city and police officials increased patrols and other measures at Garden Oaks.

If anyone at Garden Oaks that morning or who knew Tahir can help fill gaps in the timeline, please share what you remember.