Latest news with #MyrtleBeachPolice
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Yahoo
Deadly downtown Myrtle Beach shooting between customer, employee. 1 arrested
A 17-year-old employee at Peaches Corner has been charged in a shooting death that happened at the restaurant Friday night. Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock said during a press conference Saturday afternoon that the Conway teen Evany McCray allegedly shot and killed the person. The victim has not been named. Prock said the youth curfew is being 'reevaluated at this time.' The current youth curfew is from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. for those under 18. Saturday afternoon, Prock offered more information about the incident, and bond was set for the suspect. It appears that the employee got into a verbal fight with the victim who walked into the restaurant. The person who was injured was outside on the crosswalk. This shooting is the third to take place in Myrtle Beach's Ocean Boulevard tourist section within months. In April, a mass shooting injured 11 people and killed one, and earlier this month, another shooting near Peaches Corner left one person injured from a gunshot. According to Myrtle Beach Police, Friday's shooting came as a result of an altercation between an employee at the restaurant and another person at about 11:15 p.m. Two people suffered gunshot wounds. One died and the other was transported to the hospital for a non-life threatening injury. The person who suffered non-life threatening injuries was in the crosswalk near the business when they were hit. No further information was shared about the victims of the shooting. The teen's bond hearing took place on Saturday afternoon, during which the judge offered no bond on a charge of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, a bond of $250,000 for possession of a weapon during the violent crime, and a bond of $250,000 for a charge of possession of a weapon by a minor. McCray was also charged with murder. This charge was sent to the High Court for bond setting. Police Lt. Allen Amick said that Myrtle Beach police were already patrolling the area when the incident took place, and responded 'within seconds' when shots were fired. Prock said that violence like this is a nationwide issue, and that not only are there some 'mitigating' factors that must be examined with open carry laws, but that adults need to secure weapons in the home. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing, police said.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Yahoo
Shooting inside popular downtown Myrtle Beach restaurant leaves one person dead
A shooting inside Peaches Corner, a downtown restaurant, has left one person dead, according to Myrtle Beach Police. This is the third shooting that has taken place in the popular tourist section of Myrtle Beach's Ocean Boulevard within months. A mass shooting in April left one person dead and 11 others injured. An altercation between an employee and another person occurred about 11:15 p.m. Friday inside Peaches Corner, 900 N. Ocean Blvd., a Facebook post from police said. Two people suffered gunshot wounds. One person died and the other was transported to the hospital for a non-life threatening injury, the post said. The name of the person killed has not been released. One person is in custody. Additional details about the shooting have not been released. Earlier this month Myrtle Beach Police responded to a shooting near the intersection of 9th Avenue North and North Ocean Boulevard, near Peaches Corner. The shooting again happened about the same time as Friday's shooting, about 11:55 p.m., according to police. After an altercation, several shots were fired and one individual sustained a gunshot wound. That shooting came after an officer-involved shooting on April 26, 2025, in the 900 block of North Ocean Boulevard. A Myrtle Beach Police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Jerrius Davis, who allegedly fired into a crowd of people on a busy walk which prompted police to return fire. Eleven others were injured in the shooting. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is currently investigating the shooting. Safety along the Boulevard has long been a concern of both residents and visitors who come into the city. Recent shootings have only increased the concern, especially now that the city is in its summer tourist season. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Yahoo
Want to sun your buns? Not in Myrtle Beach. Law tells you to cover up or face ticket
Myrtle Beach has some strict laws when it comes to its beaches. Many of the ordinances are an effort to keep the city's 10 miles of beach front safe and family friendly, officials have said previously. Anyone looking to soak up the sun confronts restrictions against drinking alcohol, sleeping on the beach, and facing a $464 ticket for wearing a thong bathing suit on the beach. Myrtle Beach has ended up in national news for its laws, which to some could be considered too tough or outdated. However, its law policing how people cover their bodies when they choose to visit the beach goes a step further than its other coastal neighbors. 'I think someone saying we are stricter than other towns is very subjective,' Myrtle Beach spokesperson Meredith Denari wrote in an email. 'You have to have a set of ordinances in place to protect the public, wildlife and the beach itself, especially in cities such as Myrtle Beach that get millions of visitors each year.' But it appears Myrtle Beach is inconsistent in what ordinances its law enforcement enforces. Online records by Myrtle Beach Police often show people being cited for carrying glass containers on the beach, damaging sea oats or using lewd or obscene language. But Myrtle Beach's ordinance against beach nudity has been enforced eight times since May 2024. None of those incidents involved someone wearing revealing swimwear, according to incident reports provided to The Sun News from a Freedom of Information Act request. Incidents included nude adults apparently engaging in sexual activity and a woman revealing her upper body after drinking too much rum during her 21st birthday. Denari said that although citations or detainments for the ordinance are uncommon, the ban on thongs is a part of the city's community policing efforts they call 'voluntary compliance.' 'Enforcement doesn't always result in a citation,' Denari wrote. 'Under voluntary compliance, if someone is found wearing a thong on the beach, officers may first ask them to cover up or leave the beach. If they comply, no citation is issued.' Myrtle Beach Police spokesperson Randolph Angotti said that many incidents regarding beachgoers typically come from calls for service from other community members. 'All of our ordinances and laws are applied fairly, without prejudice or bias, and enforcement is based on officer discretion,' Angotti said in an email. 'When responding, officers assess each situation and determine the most appropriate course of action, whether that's offering education, issuing a citation, or making an arrest, depending on the circumstances and severity.' Back in 2020, an aerial acrobat and dancer Sam Panda was detained by Myrtle Beach Police for wearing a thong bikini. A video recording of the incident went viral and received national attention. Panda explained in an hour-long video responding to the national attention that she was detained after being reported by a man who had been recording a video of her and her friend without their consent. A city ordinance was passed in November 2021 after the controversy and remains years after. Myrtle Beach is the only beach city in the area, including Ocean Isle Beach and Sunset Beach in North Carolina, that bans thongs. Myrtle Beach's ordinance states that 'G-strings, T-Backs, 'dental floss' style, and thongs are prohibited in public.' North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Horry County beach ordinances specifically prohibit the exposure of the buttocks. North Myrtle Beach and Horry County have not enforced that ordinance in the last year, according to a Freedom of Information Act request. The city of Sunset Beach, North Carolina, which is just across the state line from North Myrtle Beach, passed a ban on the exposure of the buttocks, inspired by one of Myrtle Beach's ordinances, Police Chief Ken Klamar said. In less than a decade, the ordinance was amended, Klamar added. After complaints from the community about the conversations officers had to have with people in violation of the city's ordinance, the law changed to remove the word 'buttocks' from the ordinance. 'When you have these patrollers out there trying to make a determination, it's awkward; it puts them in a tough situation,' Klamar said. 'It was easier to just say, 'let's just remove that word, leave the other stuff in there.'' Everybody is not the same, Klamar said. Removing the ordinance prevents a beach patroller from any awkwardness when enforcing the code to the 'T.' Sunset Beach codified two public nudity bans and found that the two contradict each other. A motion to modify its codes will be on the city's public safety agenda for July 14, 2025, Klamar said. Daytona Beach, Florida, also has a city ordinance banning people from wearing thongs under its public nudity clause. The Daytona Beach Police Department was not available for comment on the enforcement of its public nudity ordinance. South Carolina and North Carolina state laws have no bans on any swimwear. Instead, both states prohibit indecent exposure, which both prohibit revealing one's private parts in a public place. Neither state's code of laws define the exposure of breasts or buttocks as part of indecent exposure. A North Carolina Supreme Court opinion went as far as to explicitly state that the exposure of the buttocks does not constitute nudity in a 1998 decision. 'To hold that buttocks are private parts would make criminals of all North Carolinians who appear in public wearing 'thong' or 'g-string' bikinis or other such skimpy attire during our torrid summer months,' the court opinion read. 'Our beaches, lakes, and resort areas are often teeming with such scantily clad vacationers.'
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Downtown Myrtle Beach employees say armed teenagers disrupt tourist district
Teenagers and young adults who come to downtown Myrtle Beach to party have become a public safety issue, business owners and employees said. The group will walk up and down the strip while not patronizing businesses, said a beach store owner who we will call Tom. He spoke on the condition of anonymity. The teenagers, who bring their guns, stand in front of his building and block customers while often drinking and smoking cigarettes or marijuana. Tom stated he feared retaliation from city officials if he spoke out against the city leaders. Other store owners declined to be interviewed, citing the same reason. At best, these teens are an annoyance; at worst, they are unpredictable young adults with deadly weapons. On April 26 at about 11:50 p.m., Jerrius Davis, 18, shot four rounds into a group on North Ocean Boulevard near Mr. Fries, a Myrtle Beach Police video shows. In response, officer Brandon O'Rourke shot five rounds, which killed the Bennettsville teenager. In total, 11 people were hurt in the shooting. It's unclear how many injuries were caused by Davis, as at least one person said she was allegedly shot by a Myrtle Beach police officer, The Sun News reported. When The Sun News asked employees if downtown feels safe or dangerous, we got a variety of responses. One gift shop employee said he is from New York City and he has seen much worse, while Tom said people have flashed their guns at him in a threatening manner. 'It's kids with weapons, guns, thinking they can do whatever they want, that they are immune. It has a strong effect on the locals,' Tom said. Downtown employees had different responses on the crime in downtown Myrtle Beach and the city's reaction. Some applauded the local police officers, stating that they respond quickly when the boulevard turns ugly, while others blamed the increase in police presence for a drop in sales. The traffic loop, which shuts down the left-bound lane of North Ocean Boulevard on Friday and Saturday nights, is the most controversial. Gustavo Alonso, who works at a gift shop on North Ocean Boulevard, said closing the lane causes the store to lose customers but he also does not blame police. 'I can't think of something else to do,' Alonso said. Other employees, who declined to give their names, said the increased number of officers may scare away vacationers. There were a few police officers out at 6 p.m., but more appeared as the night went on. Tom and Keko Henry, the manager at Shopicana Resort Wear, said they have been working with police to improve safety. For example, officers advised them to leave their lights on at night to deter people from standing outside the stores after hours. Depending on the night, some stores will close early. Alonso said if it is too rowdy, he will shut down the store. 'During these times, we'd be closing around 12 o'clock, 1 o'clock. But since spring break, we have been closing at like 10 o'clock. 11 o'clock is pushing it,' Tom said. The summer season has not begun, but Tom and Alonso said they have fewer customers than normal, although they do not blame this on the recent shooting. Tom said his sales had been declining prior to the shooting. This is again blamed on the crowds. Alonso said he worries the large crowds of young people may scare away other tourists. Tom and Alonso also blamed their lack of sales on the ban on vapes and drug paraphernalia in downtown Myrtle Beach. They said CBD products and pipes used to be popular items. In an attempt to make the city more family-friendly in 2018, city council voted to ban the sale of these items on Ocean Boulevard from 6th Avenue South to 16th Avenue North, The Sun News reported. In a press conference following the April shooting, Myrtle Beach Mayor Bethune said she does not want cheap motel rooms and sexually explicit T-shirts attracting the wrong kind of person to the city. Tom disagreed with this, stating that inappropriate t-shirts are not the real issue. 'I don't think any business selling a shirt that says 'I heart country boys' or 'Henny-thing can happen' or any of those sorts is affecting what's going on out there,' Tom said. 'What needs to be monitored is kids are walking around drunk with bottles of liquor.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
4 masked people fire at Myrtle Beach officers in high-speed chase through city
Four people were detained Thursday morning after firing a gun at Myrtle Beach Police officers and leading police on a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle. Roads closed on Farrow Parkway in Myrtle Beach and the area of 67th Avenue North off of Highway 17 North. An officer on the scene of the accident on 67th Avenue North said that one person was injured in the crash and was taken to the hospital. The people in the vehicle fired at officers on Farrow Parkway in Myrtle Beach, the officer said. The vehicle appears to have been stolen from North Carolina. Myrtle Beach Police officers attempted to approach a vehicle about 8:15 a.m. with four occupants, all who were wearing masks, MBPD Chief Amy Prock said in a Facebook post. When officers attempted to stop the car, the car fled and officers were shot at while in pursuit, Prock added. Prock said in the video that the chase began on South Ocean Boulevard near the Twilight Surf motel. Myrtle Beach Police Department requested assistance from HCPD about 8:30 a.m. May 22 to pursue a suspect driving a stolen vehicle, according to an Horry County Police Facebook post. Prior to HCPD becoming involved in the pursuit, the suspect was seen driving the wrong way in traffic and driving at excessive speeds, the post said. Police vehicles had Farrow Parkway at the Coventry intersection in Market Common blocked off Thursday morning. The county's involvement in the pursuit ultimately ended when the suspect vehicle wrecked near 67th Avenue North and North US Highway 17. No one was injured in the incident and there is no threat to the community, the HCPD Facebook post added. The names of those detained were not released. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
