Horry County Councilman Bob Grabowski dies Tuesday of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound
Horry County Councilman Bob Grabowksi died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday at PTR Industries, where he was purchasing manager, according to Horry County Police.
Detectives with Horry County’s Major Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Investigations, along with the coroner’s office, responded to PTR Industries around 5:24 p.m. Officers found Grabowski in an open field at the rear of the business, according to Capt. Dale Buchanan, commander of the Criminal Investigations Division.
An autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday morning at Grand Strand Hospital, Buchanan said.
Buchanan said police are still investigating the incident but believe the wound was self-inflicted.
Police do not usually release names of suicide victims, but “due to Mr. Grabowski being a public figure in county government we have determined to do so in this case,” Buchanan said.
PTR Industries, located on Cool Springs Drive in Aynor, relocated to Horry County from Connecticut in January 2014. The business manufactures firearms and produced 1,000 South Carolina commemorative firearms in July, each stamped with an outline of the state with a Palmetto tree and crescent moon inside it.
Grabowski, 55, served on council for more than 10 years representing the Socastee and surrounding area. The former Socastee Recreation Park Commissioner had a wife, two daughters and one son. Grabowski served in the U.S. Air Force for more than 10 years and was a former air traffic controller.
Danny Knight, former county administrator, said he was surprised by the news.
“It’s a shock,” Knight said. “I’m just bewildered on what in the world could have happened.”
Knight said he went with a team of county employees and elected officials, including Grabowski, to hurricane preparedness training and really had a chance to see how hard he worked.
“He was a good guy to work with and for, and to be around,” Knight said. “He was always a part of the team. He didn’t have to be that way about it. He was just always involved.”
Horry County Council released a statement late Tuesday expressing each councilmember’s sympathy for Grabowski’s family.
“We are certain that his care and concern for the good people of District 6 and the entire county will be remembered for many years to come,” the statement said. “On behalf of the Horry County Council, we offer deep sympathies and assurance of prayers for his family, the people of District 6 and all who mourn his loss.”
Al Jordan, president of the Greater Burgess Community Association, said Grabowski joined the community’s inaugural clean-up day two years ago, which is reflective of how he got involved in his community.
“When I think of Bob, I really do think about public safety, especially the police and his interest in that,” Jordan said. “He was always fine and cooperative and supportive.”
Knight said Grabowski had a way about him that allowed people to know where they stood.
“He was very persistent. He hung tight with what he believed and he’d hold to the dear end and he wasn’t ever bitter about it... Bob never was.”
Staff reporters Kenneth Gailliard and Maya T. Prabhu contributed to this report.
Contact CLAIRE BYUN at 626-0377 or on Twitter @Claire_TSN.
Grabowski’s efforts on council
• Has long been a proponent of growing the county’s police department, fire department and emergency services personnel
• Supported funding the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation.
• He fought to get the state to clean up grossly overgrown brush along S.C. 707 last fall and recently
• Supported funding Coast RTA based on the premise that the public voted in a non-binding referendum to support funding the agency. “The taxpayers wanted us, through referendum, to spend this money on public transportation, and I don’t see why we would even consider withholding these funds,” he said in June 2013.
• He fought for jobs, big and small, including during a contract negotiation with Huffman Helicopters in July 2013. Grabowski felt wording the contract didn’t guarantee the county would continue talks with Huffman: “This resolution comes right out and just says we don’t want you, basically. And I can, in no way, support that. There are too many jobs at stake here. There are too many other things at stake here. Why can’t this be more friendly and open and out there and say let’s talk?”
• He did not support the county’s recent efforts to reduce leave time the county said its employees would receive when they were hired. Grabowski said at last week’s spring retreat: “The people that are working now were hired under these expectations. I don’t think it’s fair to go back to them and tell them, ‘Well, you can’t have it.’”
This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 12:32 AM with the headline "Horry County Councilman Bob Grabowski dies Tuesday of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound."