Beaufort man found shot dead near Lady's Island club

A Beaufort man was found shot dead early Sunday at the Lady's Island Masonic Lodge.

Beaufort County Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of gun fire at the Chowan Creek Bluff club at 2 a.m., according to the Sheriff's Office. They found 22-year-old Mario Deadre Morgan lying in the road in front of the club, said Beaufort County Coroner Curt Copeland. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Copeland said.

Lt. Jim Bukoffsky said further information would probably not be released until Monday, but the death is being investigated by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. It wasn't clear if there were any suspects in the case.

July has been a bloody month for night club shootings. There have been at least five other shootings in the area in the last month including three in Burton and one in Sheldon. Sunday's fatal shooting was the first in northern Beaufort County in August. Bukoffsky would not comment on whether Sunday's shooting was related to others. The Burton shootings were declared retaliatory, according to the Sheriff's Office last week.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 843-470-3469 or the Beaufort County Dispatch Center at 843-524-2777.