MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The Myrtle Beach police officer involved in a deadly Saturday night shooting along North Ocean Boulevard following a large altercation acted appropriately, Mayor Brenda Bethune told News13.
Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard on Sunday identified the person shot as 18-year-old Jerrius Davis of Bennettsville.
“Our officer saw what happened, and when he saw that an altercation was taking place and a gun was being shot, the officer responded very quickly and in my opinion, saved lives,” she said. “Last night could have been so much worse.”
Eleven people were hurt and one person was shot and killed in what authorities called a disturbance. Neither the officer’s name nor the person who was shot were immediately identified.
It happened just before midnight in the 900 block of North Ocean Blvd., after officers noticed a disturbance involving multiple people.
Video obtained by News13 on Sunday shows people scattering and police rushing to the scene.
The city’s police department said on Facebook it would launch an internal review, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is also investigating, which is standard procedure in any officer-involved shooting.
Bethune said once SLED finishes its report, city leaders will release it to the public.
“Unfortunately, with social media there’s going to be a lot of comments being said that are not true, and (people) trying to make more out of this, and we want to get the facts out so that people know what has happened,” Bethune said.
Police said that during the altercation, somebody fired a weapon, leading to the officer responding with his own.
“The individual shot during officer response has passed away as a result of their injuries,” police said on Facebook.
The incident — which happened in the middle of the city’s famed entertainment district — comes just as peak tourism season is beginning.
Sebastian McMillan, a longtime visitor from Washington, D.C., said the violent situation won’t keep him away from Myrtle Beach.
“There’s trouble all over the world, we can’t control that. So we just have to come and not let fear spoil our vacation. We still come here to enjoy the sights, enjoy the views, so I don’t feel threatened at all,” he said. “I’ve been coming here for years. I’ll still come.”
Councilman Gregg Smith told News13 he hopes others agree.
“It’s very unfortunate that people feel they need to solve their problems with guns but it’s an isolated incident and not indicative of the reality that most Myrtle Beach visitors encounter,” he said.
Last month, Police Chief Amy Prock said major crimes including homicides, burglaries and aggravated assaults have dropped nearly in half since 2015, in part thanks to 248 new cameras, expanded neighborhood teams and new technology like acoustic gunshot detection.
“This path is laid, and our foot is on the gas, I will tell you that,” Prock said. “I look at my team, and I look at our community. We work together. We may not always get along, and we may not always agree, but I will tell you this: we work hard, and we work together and we find a way to make a difference.”
Bethune told News13 she was on Ocean Boulevard Saturday night around 11 p.m., and wouldn’t have been if she felt unsafe.
“This was an isolated incident. We had a huge crowd on the boulevard late last night, and we can’t always control what people are going to do, but we also can’t just shut ourselves in and do nothing,” she said. “This is a great place to visit. It’s not an unsafe place at all. And I’m not making light of what happened in any way.”
Nikki Petracco and her daughter Aurora, who are visiting the city, say incidents like Saturday’s are upsetting, and could give some pause when deciding on vacation plans.
“Unfortunately, shootings are an everyday occurrence. They shouldn’t’ be but they are, but it definitely makes you think twice before visiting a tourist area,” Nikki said.
Bethune said SLED’s probe should take around three weeks.
“There really won’t be a lot to discuss until we get the final report,” she said.
This is a developing story.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
