Myrtle Beach Police chief speaks days after deadly shooting on crowded Ocean Boulevard
Days after a mass shooting left one person dead and 11 others injured along Myrtle Beach’s popular and crowded Ocean Boulevard, city leaders conducted a press conference Wednesday to address questions about the shooting and whether downtown is safe.
One question asked Myrtle Beach’s Mayor Brenda Bethune and Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock why they waited four days after the shooting before holding a press conference or addressing the public.
When asked why it took four days to hold a televised press conference with the chief and the mayor, Bethune said they have “learned from this.”
“Quite simply, we didn’t have all of the information on Sunday, enough information on Sunday,” Bethune said in response. “We were waiting on SLED, you’ve heard this is a SLED investigation, not our investigation.”
Bethune then added that this is not something the city “deals with every day.”
“We are not a large city that deals with murders every day, or officer involved shootings, so we have to take this situation and learn from it,” she said. “What we have learned is that yes, the public deserves answers more quickly and that we have to get those answers out more quickly. That is our responsibility.”
Prock was asked multiple times about releasing the footage from Saturday night’s shooting. Each time, she said they would have to defer to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, SLED.
She was then asked directly by a Sun News reporter why she won’t release the names of the officers involved in Saturday’s shooting, since the department has released the name of the person who died.
“As I’ve talked about with our South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, as well as with our internal investigation, we are going to follow-up absolutely with those questions, but just not at this time,” Prock said in response. “So, thank you for the question.”
A Myrtle Beach Police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Jerrius Davis in Saturday’s shooting in the 900 block of North Ocean Boulevard, according to a release from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Davis, of Bennettsville in nearby Marlboro County, was apparently in Myrtle Beach on spring break with a family member and friends.
Officers responded to a disturbance about 11:50 p.m. where Davis was allegedly shooting a gun into a crowd. The officer returned fire at the armed man, who died on scene, the release said.
No law enforcement officers were injured. SLED is investigating the officer-involved portion of the shooting.
There have been many unanswered questions since the weekend shooting, however, Myrtle Beach Police and city leaders have not named the officers or provided details about the injuries, how many people were actually shot and who did the shooting.
Prock read a written statement during the press conference that said the investigation is extensive because of the size of the scene and how many people were involved in the shooting.
“During the incident, eleven individuals were injured as a result of gunshots, and they were treated,” Prock said.
The injured people ranged in age from 13 to 43 years-old, with “ten life-threatening injuries that have been treated, with one individual who remains in critical condition,” Prock said.
After the press conference concluded, city spokesperson Meredith Denari told reporters that what Prock misspoke during the press conference. The clarification provided via email draws a distinction between gunshot-related injuries that could also include injuries from shrapnel or being grazed.
Despite the need for a clarification from a written statement from the chief, the email admits that the city “does not know the particulars on each victim’s injury. SLED has not shared that information.”
Horry County Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said Wednesday that multiple people were shot. He’s not sure how serious, but in addition to the death of Davis, at least one woman was shot in the leg and other people received injuries from bullets he said.
Richardson said while the incident may “technically” be defined as a mass shooting, he doesn’t view it as that.
“Honestly, I think what this is going to show is a young man who really disliked a bunch people from another town,” Richardson said of the shooting.
Richardson said several guns were going off in the crowded street. He said he couldn’t say who shoot who.
“I don’t know if anybody could tell right now,” Richardson said.
MBPD put three officers on paid administrative leave after the shooting. Mayor Brenda Bethune said two officers are in the process of re-integrating as of April 29.
SLED has not released information, citing the active and ongoing investigation.
The Sun News has submitted seven Freedom of Information Act requests to multiple local agencies, including the MBPD, the City of Myrtle Beach, Horry County and the Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance, since Saturday night, seeking information related to the shooting. None of the requests had been fulfilled as of Tuesday afternoon.
Safety along the Boulevard has long been a concern of both residents and visitors who come into the city. Saturday’s shooting has only increased the concern, especially ahead of the summer tourist season which begins in May.
Despite police efforts to control the crowded tourist area, such as shutting down the northbound lane of North Ocean Boulevard from Ninth Avenue North to 16th Avenue North on weekend nights, and installing thousands of cameras downtown, employees and business owners have talked about feeling uneasy late at night.
This is not the first shooting that has occurred on North Ocean Boulevard. At least five shootings have occurred along Ocean Boulevard since 2021.
City officials have reported that violent crime is down overall in the past decade. However, shootings and other types of crimes continue to happen in the downtown area.
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 2:59 PM.
