Teens charged for gunfire and drug offenses at Camden motel party

Seven teenagers wound up in trouble with the law after one of them told police he had been attacked by 12 men and had fired a gun to scare them off.

Officers with the Camden Police Department and Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of shots fired at the Mona Lisa Motel at about 3:42 a.m. Sunday, according to incident reports from both departments.

Police found three females and four males at the motel. After smelling alcohol in the teens’ room, officers conducted a search and found a 9 mm handgun, marijuana paraphernalia and residue, vodka and a mason jar of moonshine, according to police documents.

A 17-year-old told law enforcement he went behind the motel to purchase marijuana while carrying the gun, according to the incident reports. While there, he told officers, he was surrounded by 12 men who pointed guns at him and punched him.

The teen told police he fired his gun into the air and the 12 men ran away, the incident reports say.

The 17-year-old was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, and all of the teens were charged with alcohol- and drug-related offenses.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Teens charged for gunfire and drug offenses at Camden motel party."